The last of the 1-handed backhands

[sureshs]

They are becoming extinct (Henin and Fed). All finalists in men and women have 2 handed backhands and primarily baseline players. Days of touch and volleys are gone.

And Fed better switch to a 95 fast. I didn't see the match, but I read that his groundstrokes lacked power and accuracy. When you are not 110%, a midsize will punish you. Make your life easier, old man.

 

[IanRichardson]

You will be relieved to know that federer is actually switching to a stock prince 03 speedport silver, like all the other "old men". I think that trash can lid of a racquet will help him win at least 20, maybe even 25 slams. Headsize is after all why he lost the match last night, it wasnt djokovics superior play or anything.

I thought around the summer we had people on here talking about how nobody could ever be a dominant number one in the world with a 2 handed backhand?

 

[lawrence]

i like how you didnt post this till after fed lost
if fed won you wouldve kept this post in your basement where it belongs
right?

 

[sureshs]

Fed just applied for the AARP card.

 

[PROTENNIS63]

I love how all these Federer haters get excited that Fed lost. Simply amazing.

 

[IanRichardson]

i like how you didnt post this till after fed lost
if fed won you wouldve kept this post in your basement where it belongs
right?

(yes he would have, but as you know TW is full of bandwagoners)

 

[Nellie]

They are becoming extinct (Henin and Fed). All finalists in men and women have 2 handed backhands and primarily baseline players. Days of touch and volleys are gone.

And Fed better switch to a 95 fast. I didn't see the match, but I read that his groundstrokes lacked power and accuracy. When you are not 110%, a midsize will punish you. Make your life easier, old man.

You do realize that Tsonga (2hbh) has good touch and volleys or that most of the top ranked doubles players have 2hbh, right?

Or that many of the top ranked players with 1hbh (Blake, Gasquet) have marginal touch and volley.

And you think that a bigger racquet would help Federer control? That makes no sense.

 

[iradical18]

Last time I checked, Tsonga had pretty good touch and good volleys. These threads about Fed are getting ridiculous, the guy didn't get his arm blown off, he lost 1 freaking match.

 

[FrontRowGrandstand]

They are becoming extinct (Henin and Fed). All finalists in men and women have 2 handed backhands and primarily baseline players. Days of touch and volleys are gone.

And Fed better switch to a 95 fast. I didn't see the match, but I read that his groundstrokes lacked power and accuracy. When you are not 110%, a midsize will punish you. Make your life easier, old man.

save discussing rackets for the equipment thread or whatever it is.

As for one-handed backhands, there are still plenty and still plenty that are LETHAL. Don't cue the Last of the Mohicans theme music just yet.

 

[tennis_hand]

these threads are the same as those when Fed lost to Canas twice last year. but what happened last year? oh yea.

 

[NamRanger]

You do realize that Tsonga (2hbh) has good touch and volleys or that most of the top ranked doubles players have 2hbh, right?

Or that many of the top ranked players with 1hbh (Blake, Gasquet) have marginal touch and volley.

And you think that a bigger racquet would help Federer control? That makes no sense.

No, but he defintely would frame alot less and have alot more pop on his balls.

 

[Legend of Borg]

Last time I checked, Tsonga had pretty good touch and good volleys. These threads about Fed are getting ridiculous, the guy didn't get his arm blown off, he lost 1 freaking match.

Exactly. So many people overreact, its getting ridiculous and annoying. He is still number one, and he might be playing worse than he was a few years ago, but he is still dangerous and up at large.

 

[Salsa_Lover]

He'll come back with a vengeance...


And really it my beloved sport becomes dominated by double backhanders-big racket-baseliner-grunting-hardhitters, they I will play more football ( soccer )

 

[$$$$mony$$$$]

Last time I checked, Tsonga had pretty good touch and good volleys. These threads about Fed are getting ridiculous, the guy didn't get his arm blown off, he lost 1 freaking match.

actually hes lost 4 after late October
BAM HE IS LIKE AN OLD MAN

JUST KIDDING... federer will with the rest of the GS this year no contest.

 

[zagor]

Federer's K-90 is fine,he won 12 slams with it.He can't win forever,it's just a natural order of things.I do believe he needs a coach though.

 

[JacKKyKung]

He's only a player who can win or lose anytime.

 

[sureshs]

No, but he defintely would frame alot less and have alot more pop on his balls.

He needs that to keep up with the young guns

 

[grass_hopper]

fed game is the best. he glides on the court. I do like this tsonja guys game after seeing how he dealt with Nadal. sure hope he can do it on clay too.

 

[BreakPoint]

They are becoming extinct (Henin and Fed). All finalists in men and women have 2 handed backhands and primarily baseline players. Days of touch and volleys are gone.

And Fed better switch to a 95 fast. I didn't see the match, but I read that his groundstrokes lacked power and accuracy. When you are not 110%, a midsize will punish you. Make your life easier, old man.

Tsonga is an all-court player. Didn't you see all the points he ended at the net against Nadal?

And given that the majority of pros have 2HBH's (overwhelming majority on the women's side), what do you think the odds are that the 4 players left also have 2HBH's? You do the math.

 

[sureshs]

And given that the majority of pros have 2HBH's (overwhelming majority on the women's side), what do you think the odds are that the 4 players left also have 2HBH's? You do the math.

Chicken and egg. How do you know that the reason for the majority of pros being 2 handed is not because those are the guys who win?

 

[BreakPoint]

Chicken and egg. How do you know that the reason for the majority of pros being 2 handed is not because those are the guys who win?

Huh? What does that have to do with the odds of 4 players with 2HBH's getting to the final? I knew you weren't any good at math but this is ridiculous.

If 220 of the 256 players in the main draw of the mens and womens singles have 2HBH's, what are the odds that the 4 in the finals will have 2HBH's?

 

[2 Cent]

don't forget about good ole James Blake and Amelie Mauresmo. 1-handys.

 

[sureshs]

Huh? What does that have to do with the odds of 4 players with 2HBH's getting to the final? I knew you weren't any good at math but this is ridiculous.

If 220 of the 256 players in the main draw of the mens and womens singles have 2HBH's, what are the odds that the 4 in the finals will have 2HBH's?

But why do 220 of the 256 players have 2 handed backhands?

 

[Shangri La]

Suresh Im still waiting for your 'federer should retire' thread =D

 

[Jonny S&V]

But why do 220 of the 256 players have 2 handed backhands?

Why do people choose the 2-hander in the first place anyways? It's easier to learn, and why throw away something that ain't broken (ala Sampras).

 

[sureshs]

Suresh Im still waiting for your 'federer should retire' thread =D

He should retire if he doesn't win both Indian Wells and Miami.

 

[fastdunn]

They are becoming extinct (Henin and Fed). All finalists in men and women have 2 handed backhands and primarily baseline players. Days of touch and volleys are gone.
.

Actually it's been like that for a while now. Maybe about 5 years or so ? But there's a cycle in here. I think we're near end of the half cycle. Soon the touch and volleys will slowly come back. I hope Tsonga is a good sign for that (in a new eevolved format)...

And both 1 handers and 2 handers will continue to thrive...

 

[fgzhu88]

Fed just applied for the AARP card.

"AARP? To me that's just the sound an old person makes when he gets out of a bean bag chair" - Stephen Colbert

 

[tumalow2]

the reason there are less one handers is because the game is speeding up and the onehander is harder to time, the footwork is harder, and you have to bend a lot lower with a one hander. as with the two handed backhand you can get away with lazy footwork,bending, and timing.

 

[BreakPoint]

But why do 220 of the 256 players have 2 handed backhands?

Because most pros started playing when they were like 5 years old when they were not strong enough to hit a 1HBH so they got used to using 2HBH's. And most women use 1HBH's for the same reason plus many may not feel they are strong enough to switch.

 

[tennismadman]

i think the lack of 1 handers is due to the way young people today are taught to play...hitting a two hander is easier...and better for younger people...by time a player gets older..they dont want to switch

 

[tennishead93]

ihave this funny feeling djokovic will be the next man (or woman) to win the golden slam

 

[coloskier]

You do realize that Tsonga (2hbh) has good touch and volleys or that most of the top ranked doubles players have 2hbh, right?

Or that many of the top ranked players with 1hbh (Blake, Gasquet) have marginal touch and volley.

And you think that a bigger racquet would help Federer control? That makes no sense.

Actually, a smaller head has more control for volleys because you have less of a trampoline effect.

 

[Phil]

I thought around the summer we had people on here talking about how nobody could ever be a dominant number one in the world with a 2 handed backhand?

And? What has changed since then? Federer's still number one in the world, so that kinda eliminates the "dominant number one" with a two-hander, doesn't it?

 

[Tempest344]

the last??

with people like Gasquet, Kohlschreiber, Ljubicic and Haas around
yeah its definately going downhill

8 of the top 20 for men have one-handers

BTW Djokovic seems to have pretty good touch on his backhand dropshot
Tsonga does too on his touch volleys so far

what a load of rubbish

 

[kazonka]

one would think that if the power and accuracy you get from one and two handed are the same then the choice should be for the shot that costs the least amount of energy to use cause over a period of 5 sets will make a difference.
Of coarse I keep hearing 2 handed is more powerfull but I dunno, mine isnt
I use a one handed as I have a wide chest.shoulders and find that trying two handed tires me more ,this could just be bad technique on my part. Also 2-handed winds me as it expells to much air out of my lungs when I hit the ball. My assumption always was that 2-handed was for smaller chested/shouldered guys but tsonga, saffin look kinda big to me so dunno.

My assumption is that with so many pros using 2-handed it must be the more efficient shot.

 

[_mats_]

ihave this funny feeling djokovic will be the next man (or woman) to win the golden slam

is he going to have a sex change?!?

 

[Tempest344]

My assumption is that with so many pros using 2-handed it must be the more efficient shot.

it is easier to teach them a 2 hander when they first start
and is popular with coaches

 

[BreakPoint]

My assumption is that with so many pros using 2-handed it must be the more efficient shot.

I don't think that's the correct assumption. More pros use 2HBH's because most started playing tennis when they were very young so they didn't have to strength to hit 1HBH, and once they become very good they are uncomfortable to switch to something completely different.

 

[Ultra2HolyGrail]

I don't think that's the correct assumption. More pros use 2HBH's because most started playing tennis when they were very young so they didn't have to strength to hit 1HBH, and once they become very good they are uncomfortable to switch to something completely different.

So how was fed and all other pro's with one handers able to play very young with a one hander? Are you saying that these kids were much stronger than kids who used two handers? Give me a break..Where do you get this stuff? On the internet i take it.. The real reason many use two are players like agassi and many teaching pros that teach the two hander to be the superior weapon when it comes to baseline bashing and return of serves.
Also most kids think it's cool to bang from the baseline with power and the best players at it have two handers. It's normal for them to want to be able to use the two.. Many kids who watch fed and think because he uses a one hander and think it's better is sadly mistaken to choose that over the two hander.. Also many pros that have a one hander say they would teach the two hander..That says alot.

 

[BreakPoint]

So how was fed and all other pro's with one handers able to play very young with a one hander?

In one word: Talent. Those who have it, are able to use the one-hander. Those, who don't have no choice but to resort to the two hander.

Also many pros that have a one hander say they would teach the two hander..That says alot.

Oh really? Yet PMac, who had one of the best 2HBH's in the game, said that he would choose a 1HBH over a 2HBH if he could:

"All things being equal, if I had to choose between a great two-hander and a great one-hander, I would take a one-hander," admits McEnroe, whose best shot when he played was his two-handed backhand.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/french/2005-05-31-one-handed-backhands_x.htm

 

[Ultra2HolyGrail]

In one word: Talent. Those who have it, are able to use the one-hander. Those, who don't have no choice but to resort to the two hander.

Now it's talent? Before you said it was they were not strong enopugh to use the one hander? You seem confused..Very.

Oh really? Yet PMac, who had one of the best 2HBH's in the game, said that he would choose a 1HBH over a 2HBH if he could:

So what? I also read John Mcenroe - Not Pat- Said he would teach the two as it's more effective especially on the retuern of serve.. And john would know about that especially after playing and losing to agassi on real grass at wimbledon

 

[stormholloway]

I think too much emphasis is placed on this subject. It's a style choice people. Each shot has its pluses and minuses. Hit with whatever you want.

It's obviously turned into an elitist thing. Time for me to switch to the unknown "three handed backhand."

This way I can do my own thing.

 

[BreakPoint]

Now it's talent? Before you said it was they were not strong enopugh to use the one hander? You seem confused..Very.

People with talent are able to compensate for their lack of strength. Do either Federer or Henin have huge upper bodies with big muscles? No. People without talent are not able to compensate for their lack of strength so have no option but to use the limited 2HBH.

So what? I also read John Mcenroe - Not Pat- Said he would teach the two as it's more effective especially on the retuern of serve.. And john would know about that especially after playing and losing to agassi on real grass at wimbledon

Yet, Johnny Mac does nothing but drool over Henin's and Federer's one-handed backhands when he talks about them on the air.

 

[Tempest344]

it simply takes more work if you want to learn a 1hbh at a young age instead of a 2hbh
Whether it becomes a killer shot is another thing

Oh really? Yet PMac, who had one of the best 2HBH's in the game, said that he would choose a 1HBH over a 2HBH if he could:

I know i would
more people drool over Gasquet's Backhand
than say Safin's or Nalbys (although they are both good)

 

[TsongaBonga]

You do realize that Tsonga (2hbh) has good touch and volleys or that most of the top ranked doubles players have 2hbh, right?

Or that many of the top ranked players with 1hbh (Blake, Gasquet) have marginal touch and volley.

And you think that a bigger racquet would help Federer control? That makes no sense.

Yes we noticed that. He was only having a go at fed coz he's a fed hater! The federer we knew is long gone, I still love the guy plays, but he's lost his invincibility. I think the choice of bh's is just a matter of taste. I still think that the 2hbh is better but there we go, taste. I just happens that last year and up to about now, the no.1 in the world, both women and men have 1hbh. What does that tell you?