Roger's Warm Up
Analyzed by John Yandell
Ever go out to play a match and in the warmup your opponent is blasting at top speed from ball one? Or maybe you are that player?
How important is the warmup? If you watch the top players they almost all start slow, build rhythm and confidence, and speed up from there.
Miss Roger? I do. But here is one more great lesson from him that applies to all players, from footage we shot a while ago in Montreal. It's also the way some players play in an entire practice. The obvious contrast is Roger versus Nadal.
The words that seem to apply here: relaxed, slowly building, fun, almost joyful. So take the time to really look at, even feel the clips. They are in 8 to 1 slow motion. Let them soak into your brain and body by osmosis!
Groundstrokes
At the start of his groundstroke warm ups, Roger is all relaxed slow swings primarily with the arms and shoulders. He is getting his timing.
There is little knee bend and no wide, deep split steps. He is casual with his stances. He doesn't move around a ball directly at him and hits a tweener with a slight smile.
I am reminded of something his former coach Paul Annacone once said to me, Roger enjoys practice. To a lot of players practice is necessary drudgery but not Roger.
Net
It's basically the same deal at the net. The emphasis is on the arm action and the shape and feel of the swings, the timing, and the contact.
Not really worrying about stances. He doesn't really move much even on balls hit directly at him. Not much of a split step, if any at first.
Then a little more of a split as the warmup progresses, and also some steps to the ball.
Serve
At the start of his serve warmup, those aren't 120mph serves he is hitting, not even 100mph. At one point I pulled out my pocket radar gun and measured a few balls—they were 70 to 80 mph maximum.
Again note that his knee bend is far less than it is in match play. He often doesn't fully rotate the arm and racket is the followthrough. It just looks loose and relaxed.
It doesn't get more intense until he starts serving a few practice points. Now you see more like the full knee bend. But even on those serves the pocket radar gun said 90mph tops.
And in the points he is still not working that hard and is still casual with stance. When was the last time you saw Roger take a big cross step into a closed stance forehand after a serve? Never right?
Return
When he starts to play a few return points then he goes into a wider, deeper split. But like the serve points he is still quite casual with the returns themselves.
How many players do you know that are fanatical about trying to win the warmup? They sometimes look more tense after the warmup than before.
Here is a guy who has won 20 Grand Slams who is the total opposite of that mentality. So watch these gorgeous clips. Take a feel from the slow motion footage.
Imagine yourself that smooth. Now take those images and feelings to the court and see if it doesn't help you get ready to play your best.
