Federer is Back

Winning the US Open in straight sets proves to me that Federer has found his game. The surface at the Open contributed to this of course, and his run for more slam titles is not over. He may never win a slam, but a long list of titles will solidify his position as one of the greatest in the game.

For students of the game, I would have to say that watching Federers feet move across the court, isolated from the rest of his game still gives you an idea of how effortless he makes the game look. He glides while others lunge.

His backhand and forehand are both superb but in the final even his volley began to take on the look of mastery.

Congratulations Roger, it was great to watch you play.

Serena Williams defeats Jelena Jankovic for 08 USOpen

Serena Williams did her usual and overpowered her opponent. There is not much to say regarding her game other than wow, powerful. It was a great match, but I would have liked to see Jankovic win the 2nd set to make them play a 3rd. Selfish of me, I know.

Regarding Jankovics game, those double faults, uh. I grieved.

It is amazing to see the second best player on the women's tour struggle with her serve. With a great serve she might have won this match. Instead she gave away critical points with double faults.

Free advice to Jelena:
Lower your toss, put the ball out in front, and shorten the time interval between the toss and hit.

US Open 08 - Murray Defeats Nadal

This was a great match. I missed the first two sets yesterday, but was rewarded with a tremendous effort by both men today. I am pleased that Murray won with the interesting final it predicts, but found myself cheering for Nadal and sad when he was unable to hold back Murray's aggressive play. Nadal worked his usual 200% and it seemed as if Murray was unfazed by Nadal's speed or strength. As is was, Murray carried the power and regularly broke the rhythm with slice backhands and off-speed forehands. His angled two handed backhand was superb and remained a threat against Nadal throughout the match. He seemed to have an answer for any of Nadal's usual weapons and attacks.

Murray had a unique combination of one handed slice backhands to slow down the pace or for wide reaches, and his amazing two handed backhand. This is an area worth emulating for junior tennis players that want to build a long term weapon off of the backhand side.

I have a great respect for Nadal and his unbelievable sportsmanship. Many players that lose in such a hard fought and important match walk away bitterly and humilitated. Nadal showed none of these, but instead was gracious to Murray at the handshake and even spent time signing autographs.

Murray may have completed his breakthrough match that will give him future success in grand slam events.

Great Match.

Congratulations Murray

Roddick Loses to Djokovic

I admit that I was rooting for Roddick I suppose because he was the underdog and also because I can see what he was facing. Djokovic can move unbelievably well and this ability to retrieve almost everything allowed him to come back from his loss of momentum. Still, it was great to see a match of this quality and this only promises to make the match between Djokovic and Federer one to remember.

Roddick VS F. Gonzalez

Roddick is crushing the ball tonight against Gonzalez. Watching his serve reminds me that a great serve can carry you through even the toughest days on the court. Stan Smith and Pete Sampras both had days where their serve is what kept them alive.

This match is now over in less than an hour and a half. It's great to watch Andy when he is playing well.

Federer is Back, I hope.

I'm watching Federer make quick work of Gonzalez in the U.S. Open. His sluggish start is seemingly gone and the 70+ percentage of his first serve going in is his strength. He seems to be sailing through the match. His forehand is back on track for this match and I hope this is a portent of his results in this tournament.

In less than an hour and a half he won the match. Watching Federer trade strong groundstrokes from the baseline and then fluidly move to the net to close the point is reminiscent of some of the best of the past eras. As much as I like to see Nadal become a strong rival I hope that Federer can again reach number one.

Two Handed Backhands

Standard Two Handed Backhand Grip

Grips used for each of these can vary, but here are examples. The most common one is the continental grip combined with an eastern forehand grip. The dominant side generally holds a continental while the opposite side uses an actual forehand grip, usually eastern. This method allows flexibility in the finish, offering greater wrist mobility and the option of moving to a one handed backhand for a hard to reach ball. The continental also sets up the possibility of a slice backhand for high balls or very wide ones. (Continental=serve grip, grab the handle as if you would use the edge of the frame for the head of a hammer.)

There are a number of reasons to learn a two-handed backhand. Foremost for younger players is the lack of strength many have for holding the racket for a one handed backhand. Adults learn with this for similar reasons or to feel power that they cannot find with poor timing they might have initially with a one handed backhand.

Tennis elbow can force this for adult players and require them to learn a whole new approach to playing tennis that include a loss of reach and more rotation of the body. This rotation may bring about back or disc issues for older adults and should be a consideration when choosing the type of two-handed backhand to develop.

Picture Agassi or Connors with their very rigid rotation of their bodies when hitting the backhand. Both of them developed back problems over the years and it is likely that their backhands contributed to these problems.

Imagine Borg with his loose free flowing stroke, and limited rotation. This type of backhand is ideally suited to adults, especially those with existing back issues. Much of the racket velocity is accomplished by the forearms and upward lift versus the rotational velocity derived from the firmly held two handed backhand.

Double Forehand Grip

This method of gripping the racket changes a few things. One is reduced flexibility, though it can be a more powerful stroke, and it is often the one used by the rigid rotation backhands. The downside of this approach is the poor grip, very weak, for reaching volleys and wide balls that require a reversion to a one handed reach. Try hitting a backhand volley or ground stroke with one hand using an eastern forehand grip and you will be convinced of this problem.