Emulating Rafa's forehand

[Keendog]

I can explain.
Almost all errors (you missed quite a few backhand ones by the way) are due to not getting to the ball in time and with good balance to execute a good shot ie footwork related errors. Having 3-4/10 knee and back pain is a factor that prevents me from committing to movement.

How can you do those exercises then? Your first 3 UE's as I saw them:

@ 0:38 you swung low to high on a mid court ball. From the base line it would've been a perfect forehand, but from there need to finish low as you don't need to lift the ball.

@1:00 you ran forwards and arrived at the ball front on. Only run for dropshots, you would want to hop/shuffle with body facing sideways when moving forward or backwards

@1:23 you had good intent and didn't miss by much, it looked like you decided to follow the shot in but started moving in before you completed the swing.

I know these well as I make all the same mistakes. It dosen't look like movement to me, you get there ok it's just you are arriving front-on a lot of the time and you want to arrive side-on. You seem a lot more comfortable moving side to side rather than forwards.

I liked the aggressive intent on his serve returns though, got some clean winners there. And you're pretty good at the net . Just my 2¢

Also, you keep missing all my hints about playing on that court....

 

[Curious]

How can you do those exercises then? Your first 3 UE's as I saw them:

@ 0:38 you swung low to high on a mid court ball. From the base line it would've been a perfect forehand, but from there need to finish low as you don't need to lift the ball.

@1:00 you ran forwards and arrived at the ball front on. Only run for dropshots, you would want to hop/shuffle with body facing sideways when moving forward or backwards

@1:23 you had good intent and didn't miss by much, it looked like you decided to follow the shot in but started moving in before you completed the swing.

I know these well as I make all the same mistakes. It dosen't look like movement to me, you get there ok it's just you are arriving front-on a lot of the time and you want to arrive side-on. You seem a lot more comfortable moving side to side rather than forwards.

I liked the aggressive intent on his serve returns though, got some clean winners there. And you're pretty good at the net . Just my 2¢

Also, you keep missing all my hints about playing on that court....

Yeah a bit of everything, isn't it? I still believe not being in the optimal position with good balance is the biggest culprit. Also, as the distance that I need to move increases to get to the ball, my nerves kick in more.
Anyway you're most welcome to come and have a hit on that court of course. I didn't think you might be in Melbourne.

 

[FiReFTW]

Video from today's match. We had to play only one set as some other guys turned up to play as well and we agreed to play doubles.
So the Rafa forehand is not match ready yet but work in progress stubbornly!
I focused to hit more out in front and swing with more extension through the ball rather than across the ball. Didn't quite happen due to nerves. I know right, there's no prize money!
Still so many UF errors but overall I'm not too unhappy about it. Love the process anyway.

Wow.... that was some winner at 5:09

Your improving alot, good job.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Video from today's match. We had to play only one set as some other guys turned up to play as well and we agreed to play doubles.
So the Rafa forehand is not match ready yet but work in progress stubbornly!
I focused to hit more out in front and swing with more extension through the ball rather than across the ball. Didn't quite happen due to nerves. I know right, there's no prize money!
Still so many UF errors but overall I'm not too unhappy about it. Love the process anyway.

I am surprised that your opponent didn't shoot down an intercontinental flight with his ball toss.

 

[Curious]

I am surprised that your opponent didn't shot down an intercontinental flight with his ball toss.

I asked him today whether he'd ever tried to lower the ball toss. He said he hit the net when he did that. He's not really willing to make changes.

 

[Keendog]

Yeah a bit of everything, isn't it? I still believe not being in the optimal position with good balance is the biggest culprit. Also, as the distance that I need to move increases to get to the ball, my nerves kick in more.
Anyway you're most welcome to come and have a hit on that court of course. I didn't think you might be in Melbourne.

I am just out west, prob an hour's drive

 

[ByeByePoly]

@Curious ... ros @5:10 ... SWEET!!!

If I was you, I would be optimistic about your improvement over the next couple of years if you get to play enough hours. To me, once you reach the point on the court (everyone has to pay their hours dues) where you aren't thinking about technique ... your UEs will drop and your serve and fh will be become a consistent high level. btw ... setup, spacing, trusting full unit turn, etc. is also a product of reps from hours of match hours on the court. You should have started "younger".

Edit: on that court, I would spend more time enjoying the setting than worrying about "improvement" .

 

[pencilcheck]

I asked him today whether he'd ever tried to lower the ball toss. He said he hit the net when he did that. He's not really willing to make changes.

Tell him that you were really nice to him because he keeps foot faulting with that high ball toss, if he really wants to improve, try not to toss that high.

 

[mad dog1]

@Curious your improvement is apparent. Keep it up. Far fewer occurrences of the curious stance on your fh. You hit a few solid fh with the neutral stance. Those looked good.

Would be great to meet up with @Keendog for a hit!

 

[Curious]

@Curious your improvement is apparent. Keep it up. Far fewer occurrences of the curious stance on your fh. You hit a few solid fh with the neutral stance. Those looked good.

Would be great to meet up with @Keendog for a hit!

Thanks. I feel an improvement and nice to see that it’s not my imagination only.
@Keendog , this must be the strangest tennis club in the world being a single court club! It’s like someone’s private court and really looks and feels like something from a dream. Can’t be more beautiful. Anyway the problem is we go there only very early in the morning on weekends to make sure it’s free. People start turning up after 8:30am.
I hope you can make it one day.

 

[IowaGuy]

@Curious - good improvement!

Are you actively working to improve your volleys? Are you open to some constructive criticism?

If so, your BH volley has a technical flaw, you are "flopping" open the racket face instead of keeping a firm wrist and keeping the racket face towards the target. Your racket face ends up pointing at the side fence instead of towards the target. 5:28 and 7:50 in your video are prime examples.

Instead, it should be hit with a firm wrist, somewhat like an abbreviated high-to-low "karate chop." Compare to pro volleys:

 

[Curious]

@Curious - good improvement!

Are you actively working to improve your volleys? Are you open to some constructive criticism?

If so, your BH volley has a technical flaw, you are "flopping" open the racket face instead of keeping a firm wrist and keeping the racket face towards the target. Your racket face ends up pointing at the side fence instead of towards the target. 5:28 and 7:50 in your video are prime examples.

Instead, it should be hit with a firm wrist, somewhat like an abbreviated high-to-low "karate chop." Compare to pro volleys:

Thanks mate. I love this when it happens! You notice something good or bad when you look closely then the next morning a forum member points out the exact same thing. I was watching every point in slow motion last night and when I saw those backhand volleys I was surprised badly thinking to myself ‘how the hell can I open the racket face so much!!’

 

[atp2015]

I asked him today whether he'd ever tried to lower the ball toss. He said he hit the net when he did that. He's not really willing to make changes.

Didn't realize sureshs has moved to Australia.

 

[REKX]

Hey mate,

I think you've done a decent job at giving it a go. Certainly has elements of Rafa's but there are elements you can work on - like the beginning of his motion is slower and more fluid than yours (as he takes his racket back and high) then drops it really accelerates. Straight arm, wrist roll etc are things to look out for.

It is definitely a good forehand, you can tell by the depth you get and plenty of top spin as well - you can certainly hurt a few club level players with that forehand. Next step is to hit your forehand whilst needing to run to the ball, that will help you a lot in club play.

But keep at it mate, would be interesting to see how it develops. And you look in good shape as well, keep it up.

 

[Curious]

Hey mate,

I think you've done a decent job at giving it a go. Certainly has elements of Rafa's but there are elements you can work on - like the beginning of his motion is slower and more fluid than yours (as he takes his racket back and high) then drops it really accelerates. Straight arm, wrist roll etc are things to look out for.

It is definitely a good forehand, you can tell by the depth you get and plenty of top spin as well - you can certainly hurt a few club level players with that forehand. Next step is to hit your forehand whilst needing to run to the ball, that will help you a lot in club play.

But keep at it mate, would be interesting to see how it develops. And you look in good shape as well, keep it up.

Thanks. I enjoy working on it. You’re spot on the fluidity issue which I believe is a timing thing. I will keep making adjustments, tweaking things until I feel satisfied although it may not be the case of looking very much like his motion at the end.

 

[Curious]

I want to have a free hitting session with a higher level player and post the video here for you guys to see and comment on how it looks when there’s no match pressure. I’ll ask one of my friends, maybe the ex ATP hitting partner.

 

[FiReFTW]

To me it looks good even in the match, I was very sceptical about trying to copy a pro stroke and honestly thought the whole idea is ridicilous, silly and a waste of time, but il be the first to admit I was wrong, its obviously working for you.

Most of the forehands ur missing in the net and long have nothing to do with your forehand technique which is good.
They all happen because of poor footwork and positioning where ur leaning back too much or forward too much or are late with ur swing or jammed up or extending too far sideways.

But if you manage to improve those things this forehand has a very high ceiling and is downright scary.

Just thought its worth throwing in my opinion, since nobody seems to be mentioning this.

 

[Curious]

Just my own opinion, but I think you play a lot more like federer in your stroke style and game than rafa.

I’d love to develop Rafa’s forehand but never been a fan of him or his game style. I can’t imagine playing tennis without variety, all the S&v, drop shots, unexpected, surprising the opponent etc. So I’m still a big fan of Roger.

 

[BetaServe]

Video from today's match. We had to play only one set as some other guys turned up to play as well and we agreed to play doubles.
So the Rafa forehand is not match ready yet but work in progress stubbornly!
I focused to hit more out in front and swing with more extension through the ball rather than across the ball. Didn't quite happen due to nerves. I know right, there's no prize money!
Still so many UF errors but overall I'm not too unhappy about it. Love the process anyway.

I think S&V suits you!

Watch this match and you'll learn a lot:

 

[Curious]

I think S&V suits you!

Watch this match and you'll learn a lot:

Yeah, watched it before but worth watching again and more like studying this time.

 

[Keendog]

Thanks. I feel an improvement and nice to see that it’s not my imagination only.
@Keendog , this must be the strangest tennis club in the world being a single court club! It’s like someone’s private court and really looks and feels like something from a dream. Can’t be more beautiful. Anyway the problem is we go there only very early in the morning on weekends to make sure it’s free. People start turning up after 8:30am.
I hope you can make it one day.

Oh bloody hell, I need my beauty sleep @Curious! Don't suppose you ever have free time on a weekday?

 

[Curious]

Oh bloody hell, I need my beauty sleep @Curious! Don't suppose you ever have free time on a weekday?

I know I’m actually like you but this court is so tempting I am happy to sacrifice a little sleep once a week. I usually play on weekday evenings on hard courts.