This economy of movement allows Federer to preserve energy during his matches. This minimal energy expenditure is increasingly important if a match goes long. It is the sword with which he dispatches his enemies, cutting them down with cold-hearted efficiency. He is able to use it in a befuddling number of ways, sometimes playing heavy, other times playing flat, and still other times playing fast.
Just how much does Federer rely on his forehand? It sounds like a cannon going off: the fluid, racquet-head speed is off the charts. At every opportunity, Federer will run around a backhand in the advantage court to upgrade to a forehand. Before unleashing his forehand, he first positions his body properly, ensuring his core, shoulders, and racket are properly positioned.
Then, using a compact and fluid takeback, followed by a full core rotation, he powers his entire body through the ball, driving it at his opponent with incredible amount of force. Notice the fluid, whiplike motion of his racket as it hits the ball.
This is due in large part to the position of his wrist, which is bent almost entirely back from the racquet, ensuring another whip-like component that will add punch to the shot. That position of the wrist will also give Federer the option to hit his inside-out forehand if he so chooses. Federer employs a variety of tactics with his forehand, using it to move his opponents all over the court, tiring them out and keeping them off balance.
Many times, he uses a crosscourt forehand to push his opponents to one side, then drives it down the line with another forehand. Alternatively, he can send it crosscourt again using a backhand or inside out forehand.
The effect is that his opponents find themselves exhausted and confused as to where the ball will go. A strong backhand Federer also has a unique backhand that generates far more spin than that of his rivals. There will be many more service games, and the percentages will likely change very little as his service action is incredibly reliable. His throw-up has been the subject of many plaudits over the years for its unerring consistency and the fact that he seems to be able to hit almost every service from the same ball location.
This is where the magic really is. He does not give away the destination of his serve and as such keeps opponents just that bit further behind the baseline than is normal.
If you are constantly fearing a wide serve into the deuce court, but cannot read it, you will retreat and retreat until you are unable to take the ball inside the baseline at all. At which point you are surrendering valuable fractions of a second in terms of catching the sever on his heels.
I believe Federer uses his much-vaunted footwork better than anyone else because he creates more time to use it. And herein lies one advantage his serve gives him;. He makes his opponents hit the ball where he wants, but the beauty of it is that he has that tiny bit more time than normal to prepare as he has kept the returner guessing.
This is an ability that is common amongst sporting greats, which should be no surprise as almost every sport has footwork at its very core. As a basic principle, most tennis players can hit the ball up and down in a knock up for hours. A lot of advanced club players would be able to hit with tour professionals if the ball were hit back to the same place every time.
Which of course, it is not. The real measure of how good a tennis player is, is how he or she hits the ball on the move.
This is not simply because it is important to see how quickly they get to the ball, so they have time to setup, it is about how they setup whilst moving, and how they recover. His preparation for the next shot has begun before the current one has even finished.
Federer is a master at preparation on the move. This is in part aided by his incredibly fast and light footed split step. The split step is crucial to balance but also in allowing him to take off on either foot at will and begin the preparation to hit the ground stroke.
This jump keeps him light and prevents him from anchoring himself in one position. It is a very specific detail but it is what gives him the extra speed when it comes to preparing for the next shot.
The other thing that he does better than most, is recover from the shot which requires him to move out wide. He is always halting momentum and setting up for the split step return to the middle. This is not just good for preparation and court control, it is also a huge factor in why he conserves energy in the way he does. He did lose 11 finals to Nadal on clay, which arguably shows that Federer is the second-best on clay when compared only to the Spaniard.
Versatility is what separates Federer from the rest. As mentioned, his one-handed backhand is a classic, and his forehand is one of the greatest shots in tennis , according to Pete Sampras. The American League and then the National League temporarily adopted the rule in For better or for worse? The phenomenal Portuguese Ronaldo or the one-team man Lionel Messi? Generic filters. NEWS Curated opposing articles on the top stories. Search for:. Most popular.
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