Op I think you are clearly a solid player. Nice vids. I liked your classic strokes a lot. Very consistent and solid.
The problem is that you are getting way too much instruction from people you have never seen play and that are not on the court with you.
All I can say is that my strokes have gotten very good from not thinking about the racquet hand at all and instead really focusing on my prep and using my offhand and hips to open up on time for the stroke. It is a lot less to think about and the result is that my strokes are a lot more reliable in match play.
To help with this I would suggest visiting this site:
http://lockandrolltennis.com/forehand/
Picture 6 Key point: notice that the body is square to the net while the racquet is pointing backwards. This is the delayed movement
Hmmm is it like a chicken and egg thing?
* * *
From the side:
Wow. OK clearly a late contact.
Please, have at it
We got the start and finish down pat, just the middle part is left
Will work on the contact point and elbow/wrist position when I get back on court.
I think Power Player's suggestion regarding the off hand has merit. Sometimes it does get in the way of a full rotation..perhaps even if it doesn't get in the way, it slows it down somewhat. I'll try consciously moving it across, perhaps it'll help give me more angular momentum.
Thanks for the words of encouragement, it helps a lot. Along with the icepack on my elbow
Medial epicondyle
I know. I got Golfer's elbow. Probably because in my attempt to loosen grip, I tried using just the ring and pinky fingers, and probably transmitted all vibrations down there! Before the last ht, I was fine, so no guarding vs physical pain. More a mental/muscle memory thing holding my swing back.
Sorry I changed the angle from previous videos. It's more front/side view now.
nishikori uses a western though. but still op should contact further out.
op's left arm is still opening up too soon.
Oooh this video cleared up just how loose my grip should be! And the importance of not releasing the left hand too early (am guilty of this). It might actually be related to Cheetah's suggestion on a more pronounced left arm extension.
http://www.tennischannel.com/video/#ooid=hkOTJzNDqVTxDIm6OdRvzzCBRAVOKwCs
That's barely a SW, not a W.
nvm my last statement. rewatched your latest vid. i think it's fine.
my first impression was that it was too early but upon further analysis i think what originally had me fooled was your style of left arm use. most ppl that have good left arm usage pull their arm over while keep it at pretty much the same height as when they extended it out left. you kind of drop your arm down and then pull it over so it was a little deceptive but i can see that your arm pull is definitely having a positive effect on your rotation for sure. noticeable improvement over your first vids posted. i'm proud of you. good job.
only thing i can say to improve it, maybe.. others might disagree.. is that you might want to have more of a pronounced left arm extension before you pull across. currently you extend your arm out and then pull it in immediately all in one quick motion. if you look at the top guys they extend their left arm out and it's sticking out there for a moment building muscle tension, waiting to uncoil and lining things up before the pull. kind of like the trophy position in a serve. you stick your arm out and then immediately pull it over and it's almost herky-jerky. not smooth.
lockandroll fh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNtq393tvo&feature=related
fed fh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el_y4QqIpNY&feature=relmfu
you can see they have a deliberate point, holding it for a moment and then the pull across.
Thanks for the kind words guys! Keeps me motivated during this transition.
@Cheetah:
Will work on the arm extension. The JY part of the "shootout" gave me more slow motion videos to model off of (not choosing sides over there).
http://www.tennisplayer.net/public/your_strokes/tlm_forehand/
Shadowing it, I understand it better. What I currently do is release then drop/drag across. I'll try release, extend/point, then drag across. That should get a bit more shoulder coil.
@Limpinhitter:
Thanks for the added clarification. The arc of the ball has dramatically changed. I used to have to hit low over the net, or not swing freely to keep it under control. Now the ball has a higher trajectory, and the added spin brings it down easily, allowing me to hit out. I hit the net waaaay less now. As I mentioned before, it also kind of opened up the court, since I can hit wider angles. Plus, I am a lot more confident going for it on both wings now, whereas before, I would prefer the backhand. Now I prefer running around it.
@Power Player:
thanks for the visual! it improved my serve as well!
@5263:
Thanks! For a while there, I thought you'd given up on me I still think I need the body/shoulder to be more turned at contact, with the arm a bit further back/wrist layed back more. And contact further in front.
no. it's the same grip as djokovic. extreme semi western. he has the same takeback and swingpath as djokovic 1.0 too. racquet facing back fence. and racquet in full ptd in slot.
sometimes i say western when i mean extreme semi western because it's easier to type.
nishikori uses a thinner than normal grip and he also chokes up on the grip so it's deceptive.
look at this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yclUwfV9FiE&t=23s
You can't swing like that with a semi western. look at the take back the way it comes down into the slot. you said 'barely sw' so i'm assuming you meant close to an eastern. you can't take the racquet back like that with anything near an eastern w/o pain. and with a 4/4 semi western the face will usually have an small angle in the pat the cat position. nishikori's racquet face is square w/ the ground. and sw / eastern the elbow is pronated more to get the ptd. nishikori's has more supination than pronation.
imho
While my elbow is healing...here's some (blurry) backhand love. Amazing how the low wide base, which is an issue with my forehand is naturally present here!
This is a wide crosscourt angle, so yes I suppose I'm not as turned as I could be...anything catch your eyes? * * *
That grip is definitely close to full Western. I notice that your video was posted over a year before mine was posted. I wonder if Nishikori made a little adjustement to his grip in that time? Sure looks like it to me.
While my elbow is healing...here's some (blurry) backhand love. Amazing how the low wide base, which is an issue with my forehand is naturally present here!
This is a wide crosscourt angle, so yes I suppose I'm not as turned as I could be...anything catch your eyes?
PS: I would also point out that from Hoad's position in pic #4 he could just as easily hit a drive-slice, and there's no way for the opponent to know that until the ball is hit.