Berasategui

panatta

panatta

Rookie
Watching Nadal's grip and trying to imitate his forehand, I found interesting also to see the forehand of Alberto Berasategui... whose grip was an extreme western grip. Alberto retired a few years ago, and I don't have any video of him.
Has anyone of you videos of Berasategui forehand? Or.. do you know where I can find them?
Which do you think are the differences between Berasategui and Nadal's forehands? Thank you...
 
As I recall, Alberto has more of a whipping motion, very violent almost, he really threw his body to every shot.. He has a very weak backhand. His game is all forehand IMHO. I think alberto's grip is much more extreme than Nadal.

The best match I ever seen Alberto play in was in the 98 Australian Open against Agassi. Agassi was ahead on the first two set, but Alberto turned it around on the third set to eventually win the match. That was a fantastic match.

Agassi commented later that Alberto's forehand was a deadly weapon,, a leathel loaded shotgun.
 
POGO said:
As I recall, Alberto has more of a whipping motion, very violent almost, he really threw his body to every shot.. He has a very weak backhand. His game is all forehand IMHO. I think alberto's grip is much more extreme than Nadal.

The best match I ever seen Alberto play in was in the 98 Australian Open against Agassi. Agassi was ahead on the first two set, but Alberto turned it around on the third set to eventually win the match. That was a fantastic match.

Agassi commented later that Alberto's forehand was a deadly weapon,, a leathel loaded shotgun.
Click to expand...

You are correct, it wasn't an extreme western. It was something called a Hawaiian forehand grip. More extreme than a western.
 
edberg505,

I heard that Alberto retired due to a wrist injury. Perhaps, it was due to his playing style? Is this true?
 
edberg505 said:
You are correct, it wasn't an extreme western. It was something called a Hawaiian forehand grip. More extreme than a western.
Click to expand...

What in hades is an Hawaiian forehand? Did you make that up? :D I've never heard of that term.

BTW Edberg is the man, loved that kick serve of his
 
POGO said:
edberg505,

I heard that Alberto retired due to a wrist injury. Perhaps, it was due to his playing style? Is this true?
Click to expand...


I would imagine that's quite likely. The kinda torque one would put on his/her wrist by using this grip is insane. Esp. the way Alberto use to ferociously hit the ball. I remember one kid at a tennis camp that I attended used a Hawaiian grip. The western grip is a little more forgiving but not by much. Those guys usually end up with wrist problems in the future as well.
 
newnuse said:
What in hades is an Hawaiian forehand? Did you make that up? :D I've never heard of that term.

BTW Edberg is the man, loved that kick serve of his
Click to expand...

Yes Edberg is awesome. My most fav. tennis player ever.
 
edberg505 said:
Yes Edberg is awesome. My most fav. tennis player ever.
Click to expand...

You can't be serious? :mrgreen:

Big Mac is the man.... actually Edberg is in my Top 5. Loved his graceful serve and volley game. I don't think anybody used the kick serve as much as him. That forehand of his was a bit funky though.... have no idea how he got that over the net...

Thanks for the info on the hawaiin grip. I've never notice Berasategui forehand. It's probably because when he played Bruguera all those moon balls would put me to sleep.
 
newnuse said:
You can't be serious? :mrgreen:

Big Mac is the man.... actually Edberg is in my Top 5. Loved his graceful serve and volley game. I don't think anybody used the kick serve as much as him. That forehand of his was a bit funky though.... have no idea how he got that over the net...

Thanks for the info on the hawaiin grip. I've never notice Berasategui forehand. It's probably because when he played Bruguera all those moon balls would put me to sleep.
Click to expand...

I instead felt tired to see all those volleys.. it was rather more similar to volleyball than tennis. The Wimbledon finals among Edberg and Becker were very annoying: they played or aces or at net with the next stroke, there were no strategies, no strokes variety.. only push the ball forward and coming to the net... very boring.. At least ONE of them should have been a baseline player.. think at the McEnroe - Borg finals.
 
Agree with you Panatta

I've always enjoyed the matchup of a baseliner vs a S&V'ers. It's a classic matchup of opposing styles. I loved the old Chris vs Martina, Mac vs Lendl... etc matchups.

2 big S&V'ers on Grass can be tough to watch, although I'll take it over to moonballers on clay. Some of those 80's/90's FO matches were brutal. These days, there are so few top S&V'ers. I missed the classic matchup.
 
I've seen him play many times on TV.
He also played both his fore and backhand with the same side of his racquet.
He did hit a huge topspin forehand, but I don't think he hit the ball that hard.
His inside-out forehand was a real weapon as well.

I also remember his extreme backbending service!
When hitting his serve to deuce-side down the T, he would stand as close as possible to the middle of the bassline and bend his back in such extreme ways, he'd actually was hitting his serve inside-out down the T, which would result in an extreme kickserve.

Becker once complained about it, wetter it was legal to hit it like that!
 
panatta said:
I instead felt tired to see all those volleys.. it was rather more similar to volleyball than tennis.
Click to expand...
Having both played and coached competitve volleyball, I can assure you, you don't know what you're posting about.

The Wimbledon finals among Edberg and Becker were very annoying: they played or aces or at net with the next stroke, there were no strategies, no strokes variety.. only push the ball forward and coming to the net... very boring....
Click to expand...
All I can say is "That's why they make chocolate AND vanilla." I saw TONS of strategy at work. It's very exciting tennis ... to me. (And I see very little "strategy" during the European Clay season....)

Dirtballer tennis is super boring for me. (I didn't even finish watching the FO Final this year. The first set was all I could take. ...Then I even remembered to stop taping at about the middle of the second set.)

I really love playing on "clay". (US clay, that is.) That stuff in RG makes it very difficult to sustain my interest. I'd rather reorganize my sock drawer.

- KK
 
Yes, I know there are differents ways to think at what tennis game should be. We are just divided in 2 categories... but our sport is a great sport also for these reasons, because anyone can play a tennis suitable to his personality. There are no wonderful or ugly tennis players.. only differents tennis players. But tennis itself is wonderful :--)
 
berasategui.JPG

This forehand was completly ill...
I know what i say,because i play it like that too:p
 
Playing the forehand with that grip is really funny.. I like it very much.. but I don't have courage to play in that way also in a tournement match, only training...
 
so really none of you, guys, has clips of Berasategui's forehand or knows where I can find them? Agassi after losing with Alberto in 1998 Australian Open said Berasategui had the best forehand in the world.. a real weapon.. Now I use his hawaiian grip, but I still have no idea about how he did his swing.
 
panatta said:
so really none of you, guys, has clips of Berasategui's forehand or knows where I can find them? Agassi after losing with Alberto in 1998 Australian Open said Berasategui had the best forehand in the world.. a real weapon.. Now I use his hawaiian grip, but I still have no idea about how he did his swing.
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I have a tape of that match, 98 AO against Agassi. It is certainly a classic.

Alberto was losing the first two sets, then came back winning the third and all the way to the fifth set to win the match. Fantastic match indeed.
 
Cannot you please convert it in a mov or avi file and share it here with us? Even a few megabytes of movie would be great (especially regarding his forehand)
 
panatta said:
Cannot you please convert it in a mov or avi file and share it here with us? Even a few megabytes of movie would be great (especially regarding his forehand)
Click to expand...
I'll go through my tennis collections and find it, and see what I can do.
 
Max G. said:
Hehe. I have the opposite attitude of you, Panatta - I love the netplay and wish more people serve-volleyed nowadays.
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I'm with you there, Max. Watching guys go to the net, and during my own matches, coming to the net, there's always a feeling of excitment, unpredictability and a tiny bit of dread as in "Am I too far to the right..." or something. The transition/net game is what tennis is all about, or at least, what I would LIKE IT to be all about.
 
Thank you, Pogo.. :--)
Phil.. Tennis is to take field and advantage on your opposite. Coming to the net is the most logical and correct way to do that. I only find boring watching TWO players that play on net. My greatest matches were against serve and volley players and I have respect and admiration for them
 
And.. after all, I choose as a nickname, the name of our last French Open winner: Adriano Panatta, who won Roland Garros in 1976 and defeated Bjorn Borg in France two times playing an excellent serve and volley even on french clay. If he didn't beat Borg there, probably Bjorn now would have a score of eight triumphs at FO and not "only" six...
 
Damn.. I discovered Berasategui's hawaiian grip too late. Nobody seems to have clips of his forehand and Alberto now has retired... :-(
 
x Southpaw x said:
Hmm... good to know the weird looking FH grip I use from topspin lobs is a western grip and not a hawaiian grip

So.. you use a western grip only for topspin lobs?
Click to expand...
 
Do you know any sites where I can download tennis clips? Maybe I'll find clips of Berasategui's forehand too..
 
I use a semi-western grip. If I want to put more top spin on my shot, have I to change my grip to a western or change a little bit my swing motion? What grip Roddick use?
 
mutt said:
I use a semi-western grip. If I want to put more top spin on my shot, have I to change my grip to a western or change a little bit my swing motion? What grip Roddick use?

Roddick seems to use a western grip. If you do a search in this forum you'll find a photo posted by a user which showed Roddick's western grip.
I think you can try the two solutions: maintaining your semi-western grip and doing a low to high swing or adopting a western grip without changing your swing too much.
If you already have a semi-western, I believe adopting a full western won't take too much time and efforts..
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