Time for Murray to Use a Bigger Frame

[Ihatetennis]

The two players with the most spin both have more Slams than the two players with the least spin.

(BTW, the stats are from 2013, and the two players with the most spin were ranked #1 or #2 during 2013).

Sock hits more spin than anyone else and has a huge serve. Explain him not at 1

 

[BreakPoint]

Sock hits more spin than anyone else and has a huge serve. Explain him not at 1

He uses a full western grip and full poly. And how do his numbers compare to those other 4 guys?

Besides, how do you know Sock won't be a future #1 and Slam champion?

 

[BreakPoint]

Andy needs to take a wooden racket and find a new coach ( BreakPoint is the only one that can help ).

You're right. Murray needs to switch to a bigger wooden racquet.

 

[Ihatetennis]

He uses a full western grip and full poly. And how do his numbers compare to those other 4 guys?

Besides, how do you know Sock won't be a future #1 and Slam champion?

Rafa uses full western and poly

Is sock going to win 14 gs?

 

[BreakPoint]

Rafa uses full western and poly

Is sock going to win 14 gs?

Nadal uses a semi-western grip.

Is Sock Nadal? Is anyone Nadal? Will anyone ever win 9 French Opens again?

Semi-western:

Western:

 

[TennisHound]

I think Andy needs to go the way of Ferrer/Federer and use a more powerful stick. He has awesome placement, and some sweet groundies; but in most of his GS losses I always am left with the feeling that if he had a little more pop on his shots he wouldn't be playing from behind as much.

I don't think he'd need much, just a little. If only Head knew of a way to make their radical pro stocks in different sizes....

I actually agree with this. A slightly more powerful racquet would help him. Unfortunately, it may take too long to get used to and groove his strokes to it. But, you never know. . .

 

[Backhanded Compliment]

The last thing Murray needs is more power on his racket. #helpmetomcruise #useyourwitchcraft

correct... I do think he needs to look at some new strings to help improve his second since he uses poly mains but stick? nah

 

[RanchDressing]

Other than his forehand which is loopy, it isn't mechanics.

Where the hell did you see murray hitting loopy strokes?

The problem is he hits too flat, and doesn't have the margin on his shots to unload all the time.

 

[RanchDressing]

Sock hits more spin than anyone else and has a huge serve. Explain him not at 1

Backhand is no bien.

Movement is not as good as top top players.

 

[Ihatetennis]

Where the hell did you see murray hitting loopy strokes?

The problem is he hits too flat, and doesn't have the margin on his shots to unload all the time.

I also know thaat sock isn't a top ten cuz of a lot of things.

I know that Murray just has hit his effectiveness ceiling in tennis. Djokovic has more potential because of his strokes.

 

[RanchDressing]

I also know thaat sock isn't a top ten cuz of a lot of things.

I know that Murray just has hit his effectiveness ceiling in tennis. Djokovic has more potential because of his strokes.

I think the ceiling is murray's serve. He can't do anything worth a damn on the second. Even fed is taking advantage of it.

His 85mph kick serve against novak is like a 2.5 against a 5.5.

 

[Ihatetennis]

I think the ceiling is murray's serve. He can't do anything worth a damn on the second. Even fed is taking advantage of it.

His 85mph kick serve against novak is like a 2.5 against a 5.5.

that is another part.

I know that in rallies he just isn't effective against a 90%+ djokovic

And the second serve really is terrible...

 

[vsbabolat]

Murray's serve would be better if he switched to the Prestige Classic 600.

 

[WarrenMP]

Maybe a 200 sq racquet.

 

[Moveforwardalways]

Andy Murray is the #2 player in the world. The only player better is Djokovic, who is one of the best of all time.

 

[v-verb]

Exactly! Look at Federer. 17 Slams with his 90. Still zero with the bigger 97.

Interesting point

 

[vsbabolat]

Andy Murray is the #2 player in the world. The only player better is Djokovic, who is one of the best of all time.

And he would get there with the Prestige Classic 600. The Pro Tour 630 16x19 is too big for his game.

 

[BreakPoint]

Murray's serve would be better if he switched to the Prestige Classic 600.

Yes, it would. But perhaps even better with the PS 6.0 85.

As I recall, Sampras had a pretty decent 2nd serve using it.

 

[Chadillac]

Andy Murray is the #2 player in the world. The only player better is Djokovic, who is one of the best of all time.

Hasnt beat fed or stan in over 3 years.

Bigger rackets make players better, look what it did for fed Smaller heads were great when people came to net, now they are dated.

 

[BreakPoint]

Bigger rackets make players better, look what it did for fed Smaller heads were great when people came to net, now they are dated.

Really? Then why isn't everyone using a 130 sq. in. racquet? Like you said, bigger racquets make players better, right?

And why couldn't Agassi beat Sampras even once in all the times they played at Wimbledon and the US Open even though Agassi used a racquet that was 22 sq. in. bigger than Sampras's?

 

[EdMcMush]

I would personally like to see Rafa move down to 98 square inch racquet. It would give him more control to let him unleash on the groundstrokes like he used to. And personally i would just like to a see 98 square inch pure aero racquet to play with.

 

[danbrenner]

?? are you blind?

Murray is using almost no wrist on his forehand, there is no loopiness, he brings his racket straight back. There is no racket drop unlike djokovic who uses more wrist and has a racket drop.

His backhand is very flat and not much of an issue, but it is very flat which sets up better for novak and fed.

He uses a reg SW grip on some forehands.
But u should t compare his fh to Novacs because they are quite different. Novacs is extreme SW whereas Murray goes back and forth eastern or mild sw

 

[Ihatetennis]

He uses a reg SW grip on some forehands.
But u should t compare his fh to Novacs because they are quite different. Novacs is extreme SW whereas Murray goes back and forth eastern or mild sw

I agree, but that is what lowers his potential.

Novak has a more loopy swing with a more laid back wrist.

In order for murray to be more competative, he would have to change his mechanics, something that no pro wants to do.

 

[danbrenner]

I agree, but that is what lowers his potential.

Novak has a more loopy swing with a more laid back wrist.

In order for murray to be more competative, he would have to change his mechanics, something that no pro wants to do.

i couldnt disagree more with all due respect. each pro has their own style. then you should pick on Federer as well for having an essentially flat Eastern Forehand. But we all know that would be a ridiculous item to point out. And lets kill DelPotro for having a completely flat forehand while were at it. (meanwhile its one of the best forehands on Tour). so no.. the bottom line is .. Andy plays best for what Andys tendencies are. its that simple. changing mechanics would be a disaster for any pro at that level. Novac is simply the best not because of his forehand technique. .he just is the best. its that simple. no need to compare him or his technique to anyone elses. .But again to illustrate this point so that u should know the truth, is that Fed is the GOAT.. period. and he uses a more old school forehand, flatter, than most on tour. . period the end.

 

[FedLIKEnot]

I think Murray it isn't about stroke and mechanics (though no one not even pros have perfect technique), instead I think it is about mindset. Wanting to be aggressive and forcing his will sometimes. He seems to content at time to play the retriever and turn it into offense where if he started offensive he could end points earlier. All of that said he is #2 has been in the top 5 for what seems like forever at this point I am sure he knows his flaws and strengths and its worked for him pretty well to this point.

 

[danbrenner]

Nadal uses a semi-western grip.

Is Sock Nadal? Is anyone Nadal? Will anyone ever win 9 French Opens again?

Semi-western:

Western:

great photos to illustrate your point. but i dont think anyone on the current tour really uses a full western. palm and knuckle on the 5th bevel. its just not probable. im assuming Sock just uses an extreme.. albeit the most extreme version of a sw on tour. almost completely corked but not quite. the diff were seeing here in your two pics is not so much that hes on bevel 5 instead of 4, but that his grip is much larger than Nadals which accentuates the pronation.

 

[BreakPoint]

great photos to illustrate your point. but i dont think anyone on the current tour really uses a full western. palm and knuckle on the 5th bevel. its just not probable. im assuming Sock just uses an extreme.. albeit the most extreme version of a sw on tour. almost completely corked but not quite. the diff were seeing here in your two pics is not so much that hes on bevel 5 instead of 4, but that his grip is much larger than Nadals which accentuates the pronation.

All the experts seem to say that Sock uses a full western grip.

http://www.fawcette.net/2014/09/jack-socks-explosive-forehand-.html

 

[danbrenner]

He is so extreme Wicked. And it works great for him. It's like he's a contortionist.

 

[mikeeeee]

That can't be good for your joints long term

 

[Ihatetennis]

i couldnt disagree more with all due respect. each pro has their own style. then you should pick on Federer as well for having an essentially flat Eastern Forehand. But we all know that would be a ridiculous item to point out. And lets kill DelPotro for having a completely flat forehand while were at it. (meanwhile its one of the best forehands on Tour). so no.. the bottom line is .. Andy plays best for what Andys tendencies are. its that simple. changing mechanics would be a disaster for any pro at that level. Novac is simply the best not because of his forehand technique. .he just is the best. its that simple. no need to compare him or his technique to anyone elses. .But again to illustrate this point so that u should know the truth, is that Fed is the GOAT.. period. and he uses a more old school forehand, flatter, than most on tour. . period the end.

I am a huge fed fan, and I am not sure why you are bringing up his name in this.

He also uses semi western like nadal. I admit I thought nadal was more extreme but he isn't. Murray also uses the same grip, with a straight take back which is the issue.


Fed hits with a ton of spin, he also has hit wrist laid back and hits the ball better than murray. Federer hits well over 2500 rpm on his forehand. Just google it.


Murray hits about 2000 rpm and much flatter than the rest, he is stiffer and has a lower ceiling than fed nadal or djokovic.

Otherwise he would be able to handle them from the baseline easier, as he has consistently gotten to the point of tournaments where he beats, or loses to, them

Edit: Del Potro is a 1 slam wonder who has not played on tour regularyly in 3 years.

He is injured and his forehand was not the best on tour, far from it, while he was playing.

If the biggeset hitting flattes forehand is the best than why don't we just say that dustin brown has the best forehand of all time? He smacks the crap out of it.

The best forehand is not the most powerful, but rather the most consistent and effective forehand. That is reserved for nadal and djokovic.

 

[BreakPoint]

That can't be good for your joints long term

No, it can't. Especially with full poly strings.

My arm hurts just looking at Sock hit forehands. He has to contort his arm so much because he's essentially hitting the ball with the back side of his racquet!

 

[anubis]

I think Andy needs to go the way of Ferrer/Federer and use a more powerful stick. He has awesome placement, and some sweet groundies; but in most of his GS losses I always am left with the feeling that if he had a little more pop on his shots he wouldn't be playing from behind as much.

I don't think he'd need much, just a little. If only Head knew of a way to make their radical pro stocks in different sizes....

Murray is using an incredibly powerful racquet. Static weight is north of 380 and the swingweight is at least 400, maybe higher. It's a boomstick for sure. It makes Federer's racquet look like a pea shooter. When you're swinging a racquet with a swingweight of 400+ over 80 MPH, in the words of Doc from Back to the Future: "You're going to see some serious sh*t"

 

[beltsman]

He needs to hire Agassi as coach and switch to Prince and try to emulate Agassi's career. Minus the meth.

 

[SpinToWin]

I think Murray it isn't about stroke and mechanics (though no one not even pros have perfect technique), instead I think it is about mindset. Wanting to be aggressive and forcing his will sometimes. He seems to content at time to play the retriever and turn it into offense where if he started offensive he could end points earlier. All of that said he is #2 has been in the top 5 for what seems like forever at this point I am sure he knows his flaws and strengths and its worked for him pretty well to this point.

I think that mindset is a function of his strokes though, particularly his forehand. Murray's strokes are less suited to creating a high combination of pace and spin (certainly relative to Novak, not to mention Fed or Rafa). As a result, the other three feel more comfortable at being aggressive, as the spin they have easy access to gives them good margin on their shots. Murray on the other hand seems to be stumbling on the fine line between too loopy and too flat, struggling to find the right combination of pace and spin to do damage consistently.

I feel like he would be better in this regard if he just swung a tiny bit looser, he is too rigid on many of his shots IMO, which limits wrist lag and thus that last extra boost in racquet head speed he is missing.

 

[FedLIKEnot]

I think that mindset is a function of his strokes though, particularly his forehand. Murray's strokes are less suited to creating a high combination of pace and spin (certainly relative to Novak, not to mention Fed or Rafa). As a result, the other three feel more comfortable at being aggressive, as the spin they have easy access to gives them good margin on their shots. Murray on the other hand seems to stumbling on the fine line between too loopy and too flat, struggling to find the right combination of pace and spin to do damage consistently.

I feel like he would be better in this regard if he just swung a tiny bit looser, he is too rigid on many of his shots IMO, which limits wrist lag and thus that last extra boost in racquet head speed he is missing.

I can see that. But as I've noticed being a fan of the pros practice sessions on YouTube his tone with Lendl for example he was working on aggressive tactics seemed to take the ball earlier, and would step into the court more. He does volley well, and can really create some great angles with his strokes, that lends itself to being more offense driven at times. Yes I would say he does toe the line on loopy and flat at times and his strokes do lack penetration but to me that still lends itself as much to mindset as the stroke.

To me now more than ever he is more in the Simon mold albeit a waaaaay better version. But as I said he know his game and flaws better than us so I'll trust to what he and his camp decide is best. I think he has 2 more slams in him depending how draws shape out but we will see.

 

[every7]

Sock hits more spin than anyone else and has a huge serve. Explain him not at 1

Give him time!

 

[Bender]

I think he should just go gut mains and poly crosses instead of the other way around (unless he's gone that way already and I'm unaware of it). Should get him the pop and spin without major equipment change.

 

[EdMcMush]

I think he should just go gut mains and poly crosses instead of the other way around (unless he's gone that way already and I'm unaware of it). Should get him the pop and spin without major equipment change.

I believe thats Novaks set up as well