Interactive Forum November 2024: Gio Backhand

[arturohernandez]

I have for all intents and purposes stopped. I predicted that tennis would come tumbling down without Federer...Roger Federer. It has not stopped sinking either. The engineering ruined it. Now the job is complete. It is unwatchable.

I would tend to agree. I watch Fed reruns and then lament watching today's tennis with all racket acceleration and speed but not grace. I really hope they find a way to alter some of the surfaces and balls to incentivize a more classic game. Not so sure it is possible.

[don_budge]

Backhand seems essentially sound.

Sound? Perhaps. But this guy is huge and he is a backcourt player? The question is going to be one of "getting in position". Can he get his feet into position to drive the ball? That becomes the question. I think that if he gets his feet in position...if he gets his "ass" in position the stroke is sound. But once he is out of position he is going to have a much tougher time at improvising that say for instance...Roger Federer.

Realistically, to look much beyond the first shot after his serve is a bit of a stretch. This player is pretty much all about the serve. As his serve goes so will the rest of his game. If he is getting sitters after sitter on that first ball...the "sounder" that backhand is going to look. He affords him time to get his feet under him. But once that ball is in play and the longer the point goes and his opponent is able to move him around it is going to look less sound as it goes.

Ideally a player of this sort is going forwards. To the net! It will be interesting going forwards how he dances around the weakness built into his size and how he takes advantage of his size. We've seen a number of these types come and go in the modern game. You never used to see this sort of player in the Classic Game. His entire game revolves around his serve...even his return game does. I believe that the backhand is what you would call "functional" at best and worst. Believe it or not.

[ten1050]

Backhand seems essentially sound. I believe his left hand comes off the racket a little too soon on the forward swing. Roger and Stan leave their left hand on the racket until their left hand reaches their left hip on the forward swing. This young player tends to let go with his left hand a little too early.

[ten1050]

Nice backhand, it seems like he does let go of his left hand a bit early. Roger and Stan tend to keep their left hand on the racket until their left hand reaches their left hip on the forward swing. His slice backhand looks very good. Perhaps a higher finish on his topspin backhand might help.

[hybridfh]

Good observation. Gio does seem to have more of a trundated swing on his one hander. I think Chris Eubanks does this sometimes also. I have seen some one handers do this on return of serve, but Gio is maybe evolving the one hander, as you say, in order to take the ball on early. Gasquet produced more rpm's on his backhand than any player per the reported documented spin rates, but we all know how he often gave up so much court to produce that shot off his backhand. A beautiful swing, and a very large swing.

I don't really see the truncation. I still think it's a pretty full stroke...his racket face is pointing to the back fence on several of the shots in that video. Gasquet's take back is higher but that makes sense given Gio's height (and I guess ditto Eubanks). I still think Gio's prep is pretty standard after taking his height into account, but that it's his contact to finish which looks a bit different with less extension and more of a wiper.

His forehand grip is extreme and he's not getting great extension on that shot either, so maybe some of his backhand style just comes down to how he visualizes/feels ball impact. Back when I had a full W forehand, my backhand lacked extension and was too spinny (as was my forehand), in part because my backhand grip was also too extreme. On the forehand, I now have a soft SW (borderline SW/E hence my username) and hit much more through the court (it's so much better than my old forehand!) and this has contributed to my backhand evolving (including grip change to strong eastern) to be flatter/more through the court, without the automatic and excessive spin I used to get without even trying...now I need to work harder to get under the ball to add sufficient spin as my swing path is more linear with extension (just like my forehand, though the spin comes easier there).

[stroke]

It looks almost like a half volley every time. I have been wondering how the one hander will adapt to the modern faster higher bouncing game of today. Maybe there is simply not a lot of time for a full swing.

The downside is that the ball will not plow through the court as much. I watched some highlights of his matches. His backhand is extremely reliable. He is not easily bullied around on that side. He also hits a great backhand down the line.

It is not like Wawrinka's backhand but it is very serviceable and he can attack when needed. It feels like he may be evolving the one hander even more than Stan did. A reliable, solid shot that does keeps a player firmly planted on the baseline.

I'll be curious to see if he opens up more as he gets older and more confident. Or will he remain with a pretty linear shot. Maybe linear is enough for him.

He doesn't play at all like a 6'8" guy. Very comfortable in the court. Great volleys. He may make it into the top 10. The question will always be at the height is whether he can remain agile and have enough stamina to win 7 best of 5 matches.

Thanks for posting a one hander. I have almost stopped watching tennis because it is becoming so homogenous on the backhand side.

Good observation. Gio does seem to have more of a trundated swing on his one hander. I think Chris Eubanks does this sometimes also. I have seen some one handers do this on return of serve, but Gio is maybe evolving the one hander, as you say, in order to take the ball on early. Gasquet produced more rpm's on his backhand than any player per the reported documented spin rates, but we all know how he often gave up so much court to produce that shot off his backhand. A beautiful swing, and a very large swing.

[johnyandell]

Chux,
True!

[chux10sed]

Nice coil with the front shoulder pointing down until the ball shows up

[tennisskip1515]

I saw Perricard at this very same tournament, the Mubadala Citi Open in Washington, D.C. versus Emil Ruusuvuori. Of course Perricard's serve, and serving decisions, leave spectators' mouths agape. I will say that I thought his backhand lacks the racquet head acceleration from under to through the ball of the best one-handers, and as a consequence it's not as loaded with rpms as those more devastating backhands. It's actually rather stiff to watch, and flat-ish. IMO until he gets more margin, with more top, it will be attackable by the uppermost tier of ATP pros.

[jimlosaltos]

It looks almost like a half volley every time. I have been wondering how the one hander will adapt to the modern faster higher bouncing game of today. Maybe there is simply not a lot of time for a full swing.

The downside is that the ball will not plow through the court as much. I watched some highlights of his matches. His backhand is extremely reliable. He is not easily bullied around on that side. He also hits a great backhand down the line.

It is not like Wawrinka's backhand but it is very serviceable and he can attack when needed. It feels like he may be evolving the one hander even more than Stan did. A reliable, solid shot that does keeps a player firmly planted on the baseline.

I'll be curious to see if he opens up more as he gets older and more confident. Or will he remain with a pretty linear shot. Maybe linear is enough for him.

He doesn't play at all like a 6'8" guy. Very comfortable in the court. Great volleys. He may make it into the top 10. The question will always be at the height is whether he can remain agile and have enough stamina to win 7 best of 5 matches.

Thanks for posting a one hander. I have almost stopped watching tennis because it is becoming so homogenous on the backhand side.

Great to see you online, Arturo! Missing your commentary.

Good insights. As for how truncated his groundstrokes are, your comments, I believe, mesh with mine about his height influencing his shots.

A TV analyst said that, despite his great serve and power, Zverev is actually better suited to slow courts since he needs time for his big swings. Since Gio is even bigger, if he had a Gasquet-style take back on his backhand, Gio would get a time violation on each shot ( Exaggeration).

Another factor with his backhand, is that Gio sporadically returns from well inside the baseline, driving backhands. I presume he is subscribing to the Pete Sampras philosophy that "I only need to break my opponent once, then serve it out." So, that stroke is suited to time-stealing positioning.

Best, Arturo, and too early happy holidays!

[stroke]

It looks almost like a half volley every time. I have been wondering how the one hander will adapt to the modern faster higher bouncing game of today. Maybe there is simply not a lot of time for a full swing.

The downside is that the ball will not plow through the court as much. I watched some highlights of his matches. His backhand is extremely reliable. He is not easily bullied around on that side. He also hits a great backhand down the line.

It is not like Wawrinka's backhand but it is very serviceable and he can attack when needed. It feels like he may be evolving the one hander even more than Stan did. A reliable, solid shot that does keeps a player firmly planted on the baseline.

I'll be curious to see if he opens up more as he gets older and more confident. Or will he remain with a pretty linear shot. Maybe linear is enough for him.

He doesn't play at all like a 6'8" guy. Very comfortable in the court. Great volleys. He may make it into the top 10. The question will always be at the height is whether he can remain agile and have enough stamina to win 7 best of 5 matches.

Thanks for posting a one hander. I have almost stopped watching tennis because it is becoming so homogenous on the backhand side.

I would have GMP as a top contender for Wimbledon this year.

[don_budge]

It looks almost like a half volley every time. I have been wondering how the one hander will adapt to the modern faster higher bouncing game of today. Maybe there is simply not a lot of time for a full swing.

The downside is that the ball will not plow through the court as much. I watched some highlights of his matches. His backhand is extremely reliable. He is not easily bullied around on that side. He also hits a great backhand down the line.

It is not like Wawrinka's backhand but it is very serviceable and he can attack when needed. It feels like he may be evolving the one hander even more than Stan did. A reliable, solid shot that does keeps a player firmly planted on the baseline.

I'll be curious to see if he opens up more as he gets older and more confident. Or will he remain with a pretty linear shot. Maybe linear is enough for him.

He doesn't play at all like a 6'8" guy. Very comfortable in the court. Great volleys. He may make it into the top 10. The question will always be at the height is whether he can remain agile and have enough stamina to win 7 best of 5 matches.

Thanks for posting a one hander. I have almost stopped watching tennis because it is becoming so homogenous on the backhand side.

I have for all intents and purposes stopped. I predicted that tennis would come tumbling down without Federer...Roger Federer. It has not stopped sinking either. The engineering ruined it. Now the job is complete. It is unwatchable.

[arturohernandez]

Shouldn't he be opening up his chest more at contact? I'd expect to see his left arm end finish at more of a level with his shoulders.

It looks almost like a half volley every time. I have been wondering how the one hander will adapt to the modern faster higher bouncing game of today. Maybe there is simply not a lot of time for a full swing.

The downside is that the ball will not plow through the court as much. I watched some highlights of his matches. His backhand is extremely reliable. He is not easily bullied around on that side. He also hits a great backhand down the line.

It is not like Wawrinka's backhand but it is very serviceable and he can attack when needed. It feels like he may be evolving the one hander even more than Stan did. A reliable, solid shot that does keeps a player firmly planted on the baseline.

I'll be curious to see if he opens up more as he gets older and more confident. Or will he remain with a pretty linear shot. Maybe linear is enough for him.

He doesn't play at all like a 6'8" guy. Very comfortable in the court. Great volleys. He may make it into the top 10. The question will always be at the height is whether he can remain agile and have enough stamina to win 7 best of 5 matches.

Thanks for posting a one hander. I have almost stopped watching tennis because it is becoming so homogenous on the backhand side.

[rboykin]

Shouldn't he be opening up his chest more at contact? I'd expect to see his left arm end finish at more of a level with his shoulders.

[jschaff]

Looks like he's been watching Federer videos. He has multiple types of swings, all of which Fed used. Always under balance/control. And watch how he follows his back foot up through the shot with the front foot on balance to keep his center of gravity on line with the path of the ball. This maneuver unknowingly gives more mass to the shot without swing harder. Kind of like plow through with rackets/strings. His chip backhand is EXACTLY like Fed's. The racket moves across the back of the ball without his arm disconnecting from the trunk triangle. Beautiful video to teach/learn from.