Have a Question for Me?

[bowt]

I think most players have the same grip. Changing grips means changes in the angle of approach to the ball. That is just too tough an adjustment between serves. Bottom line you find the grip that allows you to hit the range of serves you want and stick with it. Same with the toss by the way.

Hey John,

thanks for the reply

im not really interested in club level sort of play but do you think 100% the players on the tour use the same grip?

a coach at our club was teaching changing grip between the first and second serve to generate more 'spin' (on a kick serve) to more eastern backhand grip

[johnyandell]

I think most players have the same grip. Changing grips means changes in the angle of approach to the ball. That is just too tough an adjustment between serves. Bottom line you find the grip that allows you to hit the range of serves you want and stick with it. Same with the toss by the way.

[bowt]

Hey John,

Do most players have a different grip for the first and second serve?

what do you think of having a different grip for the serves?

Thanks,

[johnyandell]

What I'd suggest is not necessarily slavishly copying Ferrer although he is very sound. Look at Davydenko as well, another great bent/bent. Read through the Advanced Tennis articles about the 4 variations. There is the model and then there is the player's approximation and interpretation.

It's the key positions more than the exact duplication of a particular player. You are smart to experiment with the hitting arms--that's an individual thing and you should start with players you like and evolve your own exact shapes, rhythm, etc.

BUT make sure you video yourself to see if you really are using the structure you think. In fact send one in for Your Strokes!

[nikae]

Hello,

I have a question about David Ferrer's backhand.
Is it a good model for a club player? (me)

I have been playing for around 3 years, and I really had a problem with my backhand... For some reason I thought when hitting backhand with left hand straight -its straight/bent variation- (I am righty) was good for me because I could hit one handed backhand way better then left hand forehand.

But since I watch Ferrer play all the time, he is the same weight/height as me, I have been experimenting with bent/bent variation of 2hbh and I was doing better

I simply copied everything that he does on his backhand....but I will need time to practice it for some time before I can really use it in matches.

So far in matches I would hit slice backhand instead of normal 2hbh 95% of time .

Should I continue to work on "David Ferrer" backhand, or bent/bent variation that is, because looks like I will have way more success with it then straight/bent,
OR
should I try to copy someone's else backhand?

thanks

[jryle1]

Apologies, I read that article but didn't realise that it was in that section. So it's going to be that type of thing? Cool.

[johnyandell]

Correct. And eventually there will be more on copoly, the kick serve, etc, bascially Rod Cross's work on a lot of topics.

[westcoast777]

The "Physics of Tennis" section. It never got going. My question is simple and will probably seem stupid but, what exactly was this section going to deal with and is there any plan to do anything with it in the future? Just curious. As a Leaving Cert physics student it would just be interesting to see.

Didn't the Physics of Tennis sections just release an article in May's issue?
Copoly Strings: How Do They Really Work?
-- http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/..._do_they_work/

[jryle1]

The "Physics of Tennis" section. It never got going. My question is simple and will probably seem stupid but, what exactly was this section going to deal with and is there any plan to do anything with it in the future? Just curious. As a Leaving Cert physics student it would just be interesting to see.

[johnyandell]

Great questions. And maybe the hitting arm position is the key. Of course we are assuming that the turn and set up and timing and the extension are fine. Would love to see some video of the stroke, because those are big assumptions.

For the bent straight you might try going a little stronger on the bottom hand.

But maybe since you weren't bad with a one-handed backhand you should try straight straight--particularly with the left, right arm thing.

Again though it's hard to diagnose and we might be on the wrong track with seeing the whole stroke.

[westcoast777]

A few additional questions regarding the two-handed backhand,
I am ambidextrous and fairly athletic - currently playing left-handed. When I began playing tennis my father and the pro had a difficult time deciding which side I should play with - I wrote left, threw right, batted left in baseball, and dribbled right and shot left in basketball. I have played right-handed, while serving lefty, though with a stronger two-hander than forehand, which led me to switch to the left. The left-handed forehand naturally developed after switching. Though on the backhand side I tried playing with a one-hander for roughly eight months with some success before deciding one month ago to make the switch.

Long story short - I am having difficulty with my two-handed backhand and I believe it is related to choosing the appropriate hitting arm structure + grip to use. As I mention in my previous post, I am trying to create the bent-straight structure that is popular in the men's tour. Translated into righty grip terminology, I have a mild eastern backhand grip on the bottom hand (1 1/2/ 1) and a modern eastern (3/3) on the top - is this an appropriate grip? Should the top hand be shifted to a modified eastern? Would you recommend a different hitting arm structure?
Thanks

[johnyandell]

Definitely. As good as any on the site!

[westcoast777]

Developing the two-handed backhand

John, a question

Would either Djokovic or Murrary be appropriate models for the two-handed, bent-straight variation? From what I was able to discern both players use this variation (at least on some shots). From the footage available on the HighSpeed Archives would you suggest another model?

Regarding the site, I can't thank you enough for the work you have done. I hold nothing but admiration for even attempting to bring quantitative analysis into tennis, much less deriving results applicable to the average player like myself. The progress I have made in the past few months is nothing short of remarkable.

[johnyandell]

DB,

Appreciate the words very much. We'll be putting up the rest of the Mac/Lendl video eventually....

JY

[don_budge]

Thanks again...JohnY

John...

Thanks again for your responses. The last two questions I decided were probably not that interesting...they had to do with your thoughts on the future of playing style and about the effects of the tough economy on junior tennis and activity.

That McEnroe and Lendl video choreographed to "Walking on the Moon" is really something, an all time favorite. I can see the expression on Lendl's face as he crushes that last forehand. It's ironically funny that in some respect it was one of your first endeavors in this medium. A lightning strike on the first try...I would say. Wow!!!

There isn't much that I can add that the other members have not already said about your site...except to say, that as far as bang for the buck goes...you cannot beat it. The value is an excellent one. Thanks again.