Rally Fundamentals of Djokovic Tsonga Roddick in Slow Motion @300fps

[dogdogdogger]

@TennisAnnalyst,

Watch the replay of the Novak/Nadal final in Madrid yesterday. Watch how many balls land pass the service line and who ends of controlling and winning the point when then have hit deep balls.  I don't know who you play against, but if you hit balls that land on the service line and people are hitting them 6 feet behind the baseline, they need a lesson in court positioning and not giving up the baseline.

Depth is the foundation to success on the ground. End of story.

[dogdogdogger]

Did you watch Novak hand Nadal his butt this weekend in Madrid? The big difference was that Novak took those short balls early and played with much better depth than Nadal - end of story.

Depth kills. Period. Again, if you hit short balls (apart from creating angle), you are dead, dead, dead.

What level of tennis did you play at? I played college D1, was an all-american, and reached a peak rating of ~6.5; best result was a win over a player ranked 300 in the world - speak from experience

[canadatennis11]

@dogdogdogger

I seem to have struck a nerve.

I too watched that match. The video is not about recognizing short balls and attacking.. It's about defining a new rally ball for coaches to measure their players performance. The ATP is Different than the WTA.

I also played on a full ride in the states... What level of coach education have you received? Your "experience" tells me you have a closed mind to how the game is evolving. But, I will not say "End of story" as the game continues to change.

[Stratcoaster]

Well, yeah the video is sound and everything ... But as always it still just explains one aspect of tennis. Why is there no vid that explains the different phases of a stroke which are back swing ( most important that one finds a base on the back foot and not to forget the slight pause when swung back), positioning ( feed, trunk, hips)

[Stratcoaster]

adjust ( height of body base, meaning bend you knees keep you back straight., if you dont want to look like a chicken running away), and striking the ball ( slice - topspin, hiitin the ball always upwards, good impact of the ball, keeping eyes on the ball). And there also needs to be something about follow trough obviously ( staying low, still head, top of racket goes through the ball).

[Stratcoaster]

And then how to choose the best shot ( percentage tennis and all that different theories, for example hard court players usually hit more from their front foot etc.)

[NinjaTaco08]

While I agree with you that a ball rising past the baseline is a tougher ball for your opponent, I don't think that the likes of novak/tsonga/andy are purposefully landing their balls shorter in the court. I'd much rather hit a ball that landed at the service line than one that landed three feet from the baseline. The pro game has become so much more spin dependent than it used to be that balls are prone to landing shorter in the court.

[dogdogdogger]

Your mistaken. A short ball on the tour is lunch. Those heavy topspin balls that land short and don't get players in trouble are likely because they are played with angle or the players are not recognizing the trigger to be aggressive and jump on the short ball.

Depth will never get you in trouble, but a short ball will eventually result in a defensive position.

[canadatennis11]

@dogdogdogger Thanks for your comments!

My amendment to this video is that a good quality rally ball must not just rise past baseline but must also be rising to the opponent. The French Federation have a good video on the myth that pro always hit the ball deep to be effective. When watching Nadal matches, he frequently hits "short" rally groundstrokes but the ball is so hard to attack as it still rises to opponent..

Cheers!

[Cash4Faysh]

@canadatennis11 Where is that video from the french federation? I like this video, some good info on it! Thanks a lot.

[plstrom]

so roddick's ball wasn't a good "rally ball"

[plstrom]

that is a very good definition for a good live ball, rising when passing the baseline

[Vjbackon]

Thanks a lot for this detailed explanation, i´m gonna be playing 3 futures in malaysia this june so i´ll keep these in mind.

I´m Vijay Siwach.

[canadatennis11]

Thanks for the comments Vijay.. good luck in your futures...

Cheers

Neil

[dogdogdogger]

@Vjbackon And if you hit the ball consistently short, you'll get eaten alive. Good luck on the futures. Here is a quote Mcenroe once made, "If somebody could hit groudstrokes that consistently landed on the 'centre mark' 1000 times in a row, they would never lose."

Remember, depth will never get you in trouble.

[lostintravise]

great video