Jason Swerve
Hall of Fame
This is a response to @zill , because I want your post to remain about a variety of comparisons to Federer. I've realized you might not believe my statement on Martinka's more practical backhand flair. If I read correctly, Mike Danny also told me I was overreaching when negatively comparing his forehand flair to Martinka's backhand.
Let's run a quick comparison. I've searched up Federer's "most powerful forehands" on the Tube, and these forehands are bolstered by the better equipment of his time. We can glance the fundamental differences between a couple of these forehands and the Martinka backhand from the above link.
To begin: You will first notice that Martinka's footwork is much stabler.
Capriati's return, which is hit to the service line is retrieved by Martinka in two pace-sized steps. Martinka hits the backhand while lunging forward. Not just into the court but to rush towards the volleying position. You will notice that despite her lunging, her shoulders are level. Yet, her left knee is solidly planted for stability from which to push off into the court. Her right knee, meanwhile, is at a 120-degree angle. Her mass is propelled even further forward through this degree of lean.
Such footwork ingenuity can only be equated to a player in another area. In my mind, Martinka's footwork only equates to Edberg and McEnroe's volleying techniques. Edberg has the superior form from a technical standpoint. Mac is the more consistently solid from varying positions than the norm. Martinka's movement is a hybrid of the two, with a near-perfect form and subtle mix to her approach variety. The forehand she hits just before this backhand is a body forehand that serves to jam Capriati and prevent her from hitting a strong return, playing into the Martinka backhand hit squarely on the ad-court tee.
With Federer's forehand, you will notice deficits. This is the first forehand of the video. He takes three shuffle steps to the ball, losing valuable time even when Djokovic's shot is hit parallel to Federer and closer to Federer than Capriati's return is hit to Martinka. Notice Federer's flippity, happy feet that slink every which way. The jump provides him more power than the average player, but the jump is, in fact, backwards. This in itself removes some of his power potential when compared to Martinka. This is why I told you that Martinka hit her backhand more powerfully than Federer hit his forehand. I don't mean this in a relative sense. If you compare where the two players hit their forehands, Martinka's forehand lands deeper, in spite of her inferior equipment. Martinka's backhand was hit at a sharp angle- the only reason there wasn't even more pace on it than the forehand below.
What would happen if Federer used Capriati's racket with the footwork he displays? The signs are worrisome.
After this, you'll want to take a look at Federer's step in. Worse than the jump, neither of his legs is at a 30-degree angle. He is not pushing off his toes and aiding his propulsion through torso rotation. His left leg's angle is negative and pushing him backwards. What's more, look at the curvature of Federer torso. His improper, horizontal step contributes to something of a V shape if you were to outline his right side. His side is not aligned, and this "flair" is the equivalent of a high school punk who wildly swings his arms and mass to bully the underclassmen, contrasting a boxing professional.
Martinka was the professional. I prefer a ballerina in motion to some kid who's attempting to breakdance. Notice that if you were to outline either side of her body, her outline would be much closer to a true line than what Federer displays above. Even so, she has stepped three feet into No Man's Land, where Federer is a foot or two behind the baseline. While she could have stepped in further, being scrappier (quicker) than Federer, she would have crowded the ball like Federer did, and her resulting step-in might have been lackluster, like Federer's was. She would've been less able to rush the net, like Federer did not.
Seconds later, Federer hits a second forehand winner. We'll compare this step-in with Martinka's step-in.
As you can see, Federer skates around the safety of No Man's Land, not advancing, and with his weight shifted partially sideways, as before. His right knee finally sees some proper action, and the left knee is properly planted. He's beginning to show tinges of consistency. Martinka is yet superior, with an entirely forward weight and her knees more bent on both sides. Seeing the video will also show you the Martinka backhand was taken on the rise, and this Federer forehand was not. Notwithstanding, the real problems begin with his topspin whip that makes the ball once again land shorter than Martinka's forehand.
The topspin is ultimately wasteful. He requires this whip at such an angle because his previous, lateral footwork led him to scramble on a pendulum, stumbling upon a chance opening in Djokovic's court coverage. If Federer had looked to advance forward, he would have cut off Djokovic's angle as Djokovic hit to straight him in the end. The whip itself helps Federer to keep the ball in the court: he is jammed as a result of his poor movement.
In the Martinka display, her backhand whip is in fact quicker, increasing her ball's forward spin and speed, but partly because she returns her racket to the volleying position instead of waving it around her hair for the slower topspin, as Federer does. A Michael Chang would've therefore retrieved this Federer forehand, but more to the point: a Nadal would've retrieved this Federer forehand on a slower court. For example, on a "clay" court.
Let's run a quick comparison. I've searched up Federer's "most powerful forehands" on the Tube, and these forehands are bolstered by the better equipment of his time. We can glance the fundamental differences between a couple of these forehands and the Martinka backhand from the above link.
To begin: You will first notice that Martinka's footwork is much stabler.
Capriati's return, which is hit to the service line is retrieved by Martinka in two pace-sized steps. Martinka hits the backhand while lunging forward. Not just into the court but to rush towards the volleying position. You will notice that despite her lunging, her shoulders are level. Yet, her left knee is solidly planted for stability from which to push off into the court. Her right knee, meanwhile, is at a 120-degree angle. Her mass is propelled even further forward through this degree of lean.
Such footwork ingenuity can only be equated to a player in another area. In my mind, Martinka's footwork only equates to Edberg and McEnroe's volleying techniques. Edberg has the superior form from a technical standpoint. Mac is the more consistently solid from varying positions than the norm. Martinka's movement is a hybrid of the two, with a near-perfect form and subtle mix to her approach variety. The forehand she hits just before this backhand is a body forehand that serves to jam Capriati and prevent her from hitting a strong return, playing into the Martinka backhand hit squarely on the ad-court tee.
With Federer's forehand, you will notice deficits. This is the first forehand of the video. He takes three shuffle steps to the ball, losing valuable time even when Djokovic's shot is hit parallel to Federer and closer to Federer than Capriati's return is hit to Martinka. Notice Federer's flippity, happy feet that slink every which way. The jump provides him more power than the average player, but the jump is, in fact, backwards. This in itself removes some of his power potential when compared to Martinka. This is why I told you that Martinka hit her backhand more powerfully than Federer hit his forehand. I don't mean this in a relative sense. If you compare where the two players hit their forehands, Martinka's forehand lands deeper, in spite of her inferior equipment. Martinka's backhand was hit at a sharp angle- the only reason there wasn't even more pace on it than the forehand below.
What would happen if Federer used Capriati's racket with the footwork he displays? The signs are worrisome.
After this, you'll want to take a look at Federer's step in. Worse than the jump, neither of his legs is at a 30-degree angle. He is not pushing off his toes and aiding his propulsion through torso rotation. His left leg's angle is negative and pushing him backwards. What's more, look at the curvature of Federer torso. His improper, horizontal step contributes to something of a V shape if you were to outline his right side. His side is not aligned, and this "flair" is the equivalent of a high school punk who wildly swings his arms and mass to bully the underclassmen, contrasting a boxing professional.
Martinka was the professional. I prefer a ballerina in motion to some kid who's attempting to breakdance. Notice that if you were to outline either side of her body, her outline would be much closer to a true line than what Federer displays above. Even so, she has stepped three feet into No Man's Land, where Federer is a foot or two behind the baseline. While she could have stepped in further, being scrappier (quicker) than Federer, she would have crowded the ball like Federer did, and her resulting step-in might have been lackluster, like Federer's was. She would've been less able to rush the net, like Federer did not.
Seconds later, Federer hits a second forehand winner. We'll compare this step-in with Martinka's step-in.
As you can see, Federer skates around the safety of No Man's Land, not advancing, and with his weight shifted partially sideways, as before. His right knee finally sees some proper action, and the left knee is properly planted. He's beginning to show tinges of consistency. Martinka is yet superior, with an entirely forward weight and her knees more bent on both sides. Seeing the video will also show you the Martinka backhand was taken on the rise, and this Federer forehand was not. Notwithstanding, the real problems begin with his topspin whip that makes the ball once again land shorter than Martinka's forehand.
The topspin is ultimately wasteful. He requires this whip at such an angle because his previous, lateral footwork led him to scramble on a pendulum, stumbling upon a chance opening in Djokovic's court coverage. If Federer had looked to advance forward, he would have cut off Djokovic's angle as Djokovic hit to straight him in the end. The whip itself helps Federer to keep the ball in the court: he is jammed as a result of his poor movement.
In the Martinka display, her backhand whip is in fact quicker, increasing her ball's forward spin and speed, but partly because she returns her racket to the volleying position instead of waving it around her hair for the slower topspin, as Federer does. A Michael Chang would've therefore retrieved this Federer forehand, but more to the point: a Nadal would've retrieved this Federer forehand on a slower court. For example, on a "clay" court.
