Roger Federer: Serve Part 2

Now let’s look at the toss, body turn and leg action.

In the first article on Roger Federer’s serve we looked at his starting stance,
his wind up, his racket drop, and the path of the racket upward to the ball. We concluded that
in many aspects his serve was a better model than more exotic motions we’ve examined in the
past, for example, Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras. (Click Here.)

Let’s keep going now and see what the high speed footage shows us about some of
the other key aspects in his motion. In this second article, we’ll take a look at Roger’s
tossing motion, how he positions the ball at contact, and his speed/spin combinations.
Then we’ll look at his torso rotation, his leg action and his followthrough. Again, the
high speed video shows that on these elements Federer is a beautiful technical model for
most severs.

Toss and Ball Position

One of the components that gives any serve its particular look and feel is the
shape and timing of the tossing motion. Roger’s toss is actually beautiful to watch. It’s minimalistic and
fluid. It creates a rhythm that carries
over into the rest of his serve.

Federer’s…