James Blake Forehand Lesson on ESPN

P

Porsche CGT

New User
Did anyone else see this? It was a segment during the Australian open coverage of James Blake talking about his forehand along with some high speed footage. If anyone TiVo'd it or recorded it, I would love to see the high-speed footage again.

Also, the stuff I saw in the slow motion video was the exact same stuff Jeff talks about a hi-techtennis.com. The double bend, rotation, and (relatively) fixed wrist, among others.

I hope someone recorded this and will share it with everyone.
 
looseswing

looseswing

Professional
I saw it and was surprised by it, pretty good footage and decent advice. I don't have on TIVO though, sorry.
 
C

counterfeit25

Rookie
D-man said:
could u give a link i cant find it
Click to expand...

The window comes in a pop-up so I can't see the link (I'm no computer science guy), but, just go to espn.com, click on the 'go big' button, the new window pops up, then click aussie open on the left, then choose the video you wanna watch (e.g. james blake's forehand).
 
D

D-man

Banned
On firefox go to your cache folder and find the file that is 7,845,012 bytes. Rename it with extension ".flv". Get wimpy flv player and you can play it.

Thanks for pointing that out, that is a great shot of it.
 
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P

Porsche CGT

New User
D-man said:
On firefox go to your cache folder and find the file that is 7,845,012 bytes. Rename it with extension ".flv". Get wimpy flv player and you can play it.

Thanks for pointing that out, that is a great shot of it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that worked perfectly. They also have the Bryan Brothers net play, so hopefully they'll have Roddick's serve and someone else's backhand.
 
J

JCo872

Professional
Porsche CGT said:
Did anyone else see this? It was a segment during the Australian open coverage of James Blake talking about his forehand along with some high speed footage. If anyone TiVo'd it or recorded it, I would love to see the high-speed footage again.

Also, the stuff I saw in the slow motion video was the exact same stuff Jeff talks about a hi-techtennis.com. The double bend, rotation, and (relatively) fixed wrist, among others.

I hope someone recorded this and will share it with everyone.
Click to expand...

I can't wait to see this! Thanks for the post.
 
J

JCo872

Professional
I saw the clip online thanks to the tips here. It is unbelieviable. I hope they replay it at his next match so I can tape it.
 
J

JCo872

Professional
ionutzakis said:
JCo, can you put it on your website, with a brief analysis?
Click to expand...


If I can get a copy of it I will. Honestly I was amazed by it. Blake supinates his hand back A LOT more than I realized and gets more torque through contact than I realized. It isn't a heavy topspin forehand, like Nadal, but he does use the supination, windshield wipe motion while still driving and extending through the ball very hard. It's an incredible shot when seen through that tornado cam.

I think what we are learning about the forehand is that it isn't the wrist that is important. It is the turning of the hand and forearm, while actually keeping the wrist back. It's a little like opening a jar that has a tight lid. You grip it tight and then turn it with your hand/forearm. Then Blake also drives and extends through the ball while he is doing this to flatten it out. I can't wait to see this thing on TV rather than a two inch flash video on ESPN.com!

The other interesting thing is that Blake has no freaking clue how he hits his forehand. He says something about crouching down and then springing up. That is true about his body, but tells us nothing about his hitting mechanics. Just proves what I see over and over again. Very good players are not conscious of their technique.

You guys rock for finding this clip!
 
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Cindysphinx

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
I saw it too! It was amazing.

He made it so simple. Get down below the ball and swing low to high. Yeah, there was other stuff going on with his wrist and suchlike, but if I could get those basics right I'd be on my way.

I wish the guy could figure out how to win a major.
 
J

JCo872

Professional
Cindysphinx said:
I wish the guy could figure out how to win a major.
Click to expand...

Me too. In the last few matches with Federer, I felt James was out hitting Federer on the forehand side. Blake can flatten it out and hit it so deep and hard, that Roger couldn't do anything. The problem was that he ran around every backhand to do it, and opened up too much of the court.

Blake's backhand is good, but I feel it has to be much better for him to beat Federer. It's frustrating because he has the firepower on his forehand to beat Federer and win a slam.
 
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C

cghipp

Professional
JCo872 said:
The other interesting thing is that Blake has no freaking clue how he hits his forehand. He says something about crouching down and then springing up.
Click to expand...
I thought the same thing. The only other thing he said was "hit it hard and hope it goes in." I really thought he was going to give a lesson, so I was a bit disappointed.
 
P

patrick922

Semi-Pro
so is sit and lift a good tip?

i also noticed that he rotated his hips so it was facing forward. is that a good way to get power?
 
M J

M J

Rookie
JCo872 said:
The other interesting thing is that Blake has no freaking clue how he hits his forehand. He says something about crouching down and then springing up. That is true about his body, but tells us nothing about his hitting mechanics. Just proves what I see over and over again. Very good players are not conscious of their technique.
Click to expand...

He even said "I usually finish with the racquet up around my head." I have never seen Blake do this when he has time to set up. He clearly follows through across his body.

Very cool clip though. He seems like the perfect guy to be giving the "sit and lift" tip.

BLAKE_clw_us_05_300.jpg
 
S

skuludo

Professional
Facing forward like Blake move works best when the ball has some speed. On a ball that is hardly moving your are probly better off closing your stance a bit more.
 
J

JCo872

Professional
Hey guys. I was able to get the Flash file and then convert it into Quicktime by using a program called Replay Converter. Sweet!!
 
Jay27

Jay27

Rookie
I saw the clip and yes, it's great. I'd like to get a copy of it, but when I click the link that was provided, it's saying the file can't be found (or something like that). Can someone send me a copy of their file...or post it, or maybe put it on you tube?
 
fluffy Beaver

fluffy Beaver

Professional
M J said:
He even said "I usually finish with the racquet up around my head." I have never seen Blake do this when he has time to set up. He clearly follows through across his body.

Very cool clip though. He seems like the perfect guy to be giving the "sit and lift" tip.

BLAKE_clw_us_05_300.jpg
Click to expand...

Wrong! he said nothing of the sort, he said PAST his head which is the same as across his body. He said nothing about ABOVE his head.
 
no skillz

no skillz

Rookie
I really like his forehand. May not be a Federer forehand, but I would love to have one.

I bet you blake can just higher then Fed.
 
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