You quite literally don't need a drive BH to make top 50

[muzza123]

Philipp Petzschner.

Defies belief really.

If you are lucky enough to actually see Petz attempt a drive backhand, you will see why he hardly ever plays it.

His drive BH is AWFUL and yet he is amongst the best 50 tennis players on this planet. A very rare case indeed.

 

[muzza123]

In fact, I bet you can count on one hand the amount of times Petz will attempt a drive BH in an entire match. He never uses it!!!

 

[himynameisNIKE]

His backhand is too good, this is why he doesn't use it. He knows that if he used it, it would be unfair to his opponent.

 

[finchy]

just won an important point using his backhand 'drive' in part of that rally...

 

[BreakPoint]

This is already well known. In fact, a slice backhand will get you 22 Grand Slams and the #1 ranking for many years. Just ask Agassi's wife.

 

[Raindogs]

I couldn't agree with you more.
The negativity on these boards is clearly the result of what was the worst lineup of first Saturday Wimbledon matches in history. Really awful stuff today.

 

[TomatoSoup]

Yes,but it wasn't enough to win against Nadal.

 

[Wilander Fan]

Thats probably right on grass. Drive backhands are overrated anyway, you can vary the spin and pace on a slice quite a bit. There are alot of guys (non-pro) who destroy people with just a slice.

 

[jmverdugo]

Another case: Feliciano Lopez

 

[muzza123]

Another case: Feliciano Lopez

Indeed, but I find Petz' case quite interesting and unique because he has a two handed BH. I find it is more common for single handed BH players to prefer slice.

 

[ViscaB]

Krajicek...

 

[BreakPoint]

One of the all-time greats of tennis in history sliced every single backhand he ever hit.

Ken Rosewall.

He won tons of titles in his career, had lots of wins over other greats like Laver, and made the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open at 39 years old.

 

[KingOfTennis]

yeah i also noticed this as well. I thought he was a 1 hander for a while.