breakdown of safin's forehand takeback

[tennispal]

ok guys,
right now my forehand takeback kinda resembles federer's. but i find that its a litttle too long and requires excellent preparation and anticipation when gaced with pace. i want to model my takeback after safin's forehand, which i believe is a lot more compact.

since there are not a lot of videos on safin's forehand, can you experts out there help me break down his forehand takeback?

so far my impression of the takeback is this: his forehan takeback kinda looks like agassis, except the wrist is kept not as stiff. basically he leas with the elbow and just does a simple circle.

 

[NamRanger]

I'll leave this one up to Tricky. It's quite simple really. The one thing I love about Safin's forehand is how in sync his unit turn is with his lower body.

 

[TTAce]

I think we are having a good topic here.
too long takeback vs windshield wiper forehand takeback...hmm.

 

[NamRanger]

Safin's takebake is relatively short in comparasion to the majority of his peers. However, he does still keep the racquet up a little bit, and the face of his racquet is pointing towards the back of the fence when he is in position to strike the ball. He is very smooth, and calmly takes the racquet back, unlike most amateurs today. He doesn't rush at all, and turns his whole upper body as a whole single unit.



Safin has a U-Take Back like the majority of the ATP player's out there. However, Safin's U is pretty small compared to most guys out there. That's really the only difference between Safin's take back and the majority of ATP player's out there. He has a very compact setup.

 

[tricky]

If you're acquainted with windshield wiper form, it's pretty straightforward.

Safin uses a standard "pat the dog"-style takeback. Take the racquet back to the "top." Let gravity finish turning the shoulder, and "pat the dog."

Usually, Safin makes sure his back shoulder never rises above the front. This helps keep your takeback compact, and in the forward swing, it enables you to naturally extend through the shot. A lot of his American peers don't do this with the shoulders, so this might be new to you, even if you practice WW FHs.

To accomplish the above, make sure to the following at unit turn.

1) Set up non-hitting arm at shoulder level. Ideally, the left shoulder should be almost under your chain.
2) Make sure your non-hitting arm is above your hitting arm.
3) Make sure the elbow of the non-hitting arm is pointing at the net.

One thing that can aid "pat the dog" (or the supination-related closing of the racquet) is to rotate your left forearm (note: do not do this by twisting the wrist) so that your left pinkie downwards or counterclockwise as you take the racquet back.

 

[the wise wizard]

something i will add, is that make sure you have your hitting arms elbow at shoulder level. the reason i say this is it might feel a little awkward
at first, and not doing this may result in some odd timing