Bjorn99 said:
the same side as they are hitting from? The reason I am asking is that we will probably receive a lot of silly responses. I will bet that three or four of you know, but there will be a lot of interesting returns, that I can assure you.
AND, if we can't get this. HOW can we possibly expect to understand Federer forehand?????
There are a number of reasons why anyone might play this stroke. All examples below refer to a right handed player.
1. It allows for an unobstructed follow through upwards when trying to generate extreme topsin, so the jarring sensation you would experience if you had to come across the body doing this is avoided. In some instances when generating heavy topsin with an unusually high follow through, going up in front of you as opposed to across you, is more comfortable and provides the potential to create more topsin because of the ability to extend upwards without obstruction.
2. If you are stretched out on the forehand side and are unable or don't want to get your left foot across, à la Sampras running forehand, and instead plant or, on clay, slide your right foot into place in an open stance, the follow through on the same side feels more comfortable than coming across the body.
3. When pressed for time in a similar scenario to the last, the follow through on the same side means less time is taken than with the more traditional follow through where the shoulder or even back might be pointing at the net. With the lasso type forehand, your chest will be facing the net ready for the next ball as soon as you have finished the stroke. Even the set up takes less time because the whole waist/shoulder turn is not required. When really stretched out wide, all of this is very handy when you don't really have the time or space to do all the traditional things. The pace comes from the fact you can really extend you arm both up and in front of you unrestricted by having to come across the torso.
Generally I think the stroke is used more for comfort and convenience, some might say laziness. There are, however, some benefits in the action one can put on the ball, and time saved in preparation and follow through, useful if one is not able to get into an ideal position. It's also mostly done with western type grips, with the eastern it feels more uncomfortable, and is quite handy on clay where a lot of sliding with the right foot on the forehand side is necessary.
As a side note, Sampras was able to hit his running forehand because of his eastern grip, which allowed him to get good extension when pulled wide, even with the traditional left foot lead set up. If he had had any of the western grips, he would not have been able to hit the running forehand the way he did. The lasso type forehand is a comfortable alternative for those who have western based grips. It allows them to get balls on the stretch and still generate some pace and spin, with comfort.
