racquetreligion
Hall of Fame
Feds being doing it in his sleep for decades and also the halve volley king to boot.
Nole has kept up with the times improving his overhead by now using a lighter setup.
Bautista Agut's forehand
- Thread starter President
- Start date
Nole has kept up with the times improving his overhead by now using a lighter setup.
President
Legend
Thoughts on RBAs setup?
racquetreligion
Hall of Fame
Yes he Popoed RBA great to see President PTPA showing who is king on the hard surface
Popos FH was very effective attacking esp at RBAs weaker BH. That BH side was not as
improved as we thought! Love the variety of Popo and thats what Shapo also brings.
Also good to see the other flat FH with a 312gsm stick beat Catchaknob.
I guess RBAs setup is 18x20 Goffin stick at 348gsm like NIshikori and most players of this level
with PJ to confuse us when it is likely a blade? as PS would have to be redrilled otherwise.
The wrist action would say it could easier be heavier around 360gsm as well?
Wall Ball Wizard
Rookie
So there you have it, just grab a high swing weight racquet and you'll be just as good as Novak. Simples..
beltsman
G.O.A.T.
Egg machine also required
racquetreligion
Hall of Fame
hitting LGBT snowflakes with hairy balls for a default is the only Nole style redirection we can replicate.
Goffin today also got done by lovely heavyness and all round game
that is more exciting rather than his usual clinical low error style.
Im looking forward to the matchups, Thiem to me looks a little too confident since Nole is out
This year calling a new winner is now more unpredictable than 15 years of mainly the big 3.
Id love to see Nole gets very serious for another clay title, Nadal is going to be a bit worried
now as Nole has now been triggered with extra witch hunt news everywhere.
Shapo was considerate to Nole since he has the record for the most damage caused by anger.
Goffin today also got done by lovely heavyness and all round game
that is more exciting rather than his usual clinical low error style.
Im looking forward to the matchups, Thiem to me looks a little too confident since Nole is out
This year calling a new winner is now more unpredictable than 15 years of mainly the big 3.
Id love to see Nole gets very serious for another clay title, Nadal is going to be a bit worried
now as Nole has now been triggered with extra witch hunt news everywhere.
Shapo was considerate to Nole since he has the record for the most damage caused by anger.
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Feather
Legend
RBA may play with Novak Djokovic in the QF of RG
President
Legend
Unfortunately Roberto is not a great clay court player, his shots are way too flat for the surface.
The Green Mile
Bionic Poster
The dudes forehand is incredible. I've seen him live in person plenty of times at the ASB in recent years, probably impressed me the most out of all the players at the tail end of the tournament. (Sock/Ferrer 16 was amazing too).
yokied
Hall of Fame
He had real trouble with the FH in the windy conditions in Doha against Sinner. Goffin broke it down in the Montpellier final.
I love the guy but his FH is only remarkable because it’s a relic from another age. It’s his barometer shot too - it’s good when he’s winning but can quickly go way off.
He just doesn’t manage his play intelligently to win big matches against big opponents, and how he manages his FH is a big part of that.
I love the guy but his FH is only remarkable because it’s a relic from another age. It’s his barometer shot too - it’s good when he’s winning but can quickly go way off.
He just doesn’t manage his play intelligently to win big matches against big opponents, and how he manages his FH is a big part of that.
travlerajm
G.O.A.T.
He may not be the best player out there. But his recent rise in the rankings late in his career epitomizes how bad the generations after him are. He wasn’t good enough to beat the guys who were older than he is, but he’s better than the guys younger than him.
Olli Jokinen
Professional
Reminds me a bit of Lendl's forehand. Quite compact, rather flat and lethal. The guy even looks like him.
Jaitock1991
Hall of Fame
Very true. I would also put Simon into the same category as Pushfils. He consistently plays like that, at least against the top guys. Quite fascinating to watch how guys as good as even Djokovic whose baseline game we all consider to be impenetrable on a hard court can completely fall apart when facing that type of play. Still remember the match against Simon at AO a few years back. He hit something like 102 unforced errors or something? Outrageous for a guy like him, especially considering the fact that his general form in the tournament seemed good.
Imagine if someone could combine this type of game with having a lot of firepower as well to trigger at the right times(something Simon lacked and if he had he'd probably win that match in straight sets). Would be quite a player. I'd love to see a guy like Thiem play this way. His power is pretty much unmatched, but he's too predictable. The opponent knows what's coming and it's fairly easy to find a rythm. But if he'd mix it up a bit more. Feeding dead junk and forcing the opponent to generate his own pace and then be ready to kill whenever given the chance. He could be really great(funny enough that's exactly what he did more of in AO2020).
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junior74
Talk Tennis Guru
Good post. It takes something extra to have an arsenal of both flatter, deep strokes with little pace and then an explosion of pace and spin.
Simon would have been a sensational player with some more pace. Djokovic was in peak form at AO16. That SF against Federer was some of the highest level I can recall seing from Novak. Simply stunning. Federer was outplayed. But Simon almost beat Novak with clever tactics.
Jaitock1991
Hall of Fame
Absolutely. Fed was playing some seriously good tennis during those times. Possibly the best in his 30s imo from around mid 2015 and until he got injured in 2016. Probably 3 slams for him during that period if not for Djoker. For Novak to beat him that convincingly was special.
junior74
Talk Tennis Guru
Yes, agreed. I personally really liked the matches between Fedberg and Beckovic. Very contrasting styles. But already in 2014 you had this feeling like Federer was too old for BO5. Djokovic has had a huge mental advantage over Federer for a long time, and has really capitalised.
USO
Banned
He reminds me of Djokovic and Murray... the same type of consistent baseliner, it’s like watching paint dry...
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Jaitock1991
Hall of Fame
Yeah. Couldn't agree more. Fedberg was to me as a Fed fan one of the most entertaining tennis he played, certainly in the last 10 years. Early taking of the ball taken to the extreme. Ridiculously aggressive court positioning with his feet, simply refusing to give up that baseline. Awesome. Haha.
Peak Novak at the time was just that little bit too athletic to be hit through, and it was painfully obvious that Fed felt like he needed to perform at 110% to beat him. Doing so over 5 sets when Novak smelled blood was just that little bit too difficult I guess. Fed being those few years older than Novak really hurt him in their match up I feel. Nothing against Novak. He may go down in history as the greatest of the two tennis wise. I have no problem with that. But there's no doubt in my mind that he had a net benefit from being 6 years younger than Fed. That is; peak Djoker hurt grandpa Fed more than peak Fed hurt young Djoker.
DRII
G.O.A.T.
Reminds me of Ferrer's FH in that aspect. So accurate and efficient.
junior74
Talk Tennis Guru
That might be the truth, or; peak Federer had a tougher field than peak Djokovic. At least he had a lot more competition coming from behind. Anyway; agree with everything you say here. Very good post. Superb rivalry - some of the best tennis ever has been performed by this two guys against each other
Clay lover
Hall of Fame
I think this has to do with how Djokovic has an extreme semi almost western grip as well. Although he's already very adept at low balls it's still much easier to crush chest-shoulder height balls.