Federer Bjorn Borg forehand compare

[swektmaico]

Horrible music!!

[tomaszek888]

Borg and his era is so old school. It's gorgeous - me likey a lot!!!! BTZ - wat da fak is this music????? Official Wimbldeon anthem?

[gibaudrac1]

I picked up a Donnay racquet from 1982, that nasty looking piece Borg is playing with in the vid, and you know, after ten minutes of missing my shots I got used to it and was actually able to put some nasty spin on the ball. This is the heaviest wood racquet I ever picked up. Its like swinging a club.

[66Epicfail]

The point of this video is to show how little Tennis has changed, despite what people like to say.

[alin1975]

@66Epicfail

Except that tennis today looks nothing like the tennis of the 80s that I grew up with, let alone Borg's era. It has changed so much, I barely even regard it as the same sport. No more variety, no more shot-making, no more serve volley... heck, almost no "volley" of any kind... just massive top spin forehands blasted from the back, thanks to raquet and string tech and slower courts.

[66Epicfail]

@alin1975 Eh, todays game is very spin dominated... but it's true, serve and volley makes very little part in todays game.

[alin1975]

@66Epicfail

I would say volleys in general... I mean, even Lendl, who in the day I considered a clutz at the net, looks good when I watch old recordings.

Not that I am trying to argue with you or anything, its just that I miss the variety of those days - as is abundantly apparent I am sure :)

[jineu989]

6 people failed their forehand strokes

[xridethelightningx]

oh man i would love to see a young borg play federer on clay with modern rackets

[federerbestcIass]

Rafa is classy. love him

[jineu989]

@federerbestcIass Rafa is not classy . He's athletic , skilled and very determined . No sense of class in his strokes whatsoever , only a sense of strength and skill .

Roger , on the other hand is prowess , one-in-a-hundred years time talent , and he most definitely possesses classmanship .

[stropulet]

Federe The Best EVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEER

[swr112261]

Similar, but different. Borg had to put an exagerated backswing to achieve the topspin, due to the wooden racquet. Roger's backswing was far more compact simply because the racquet head does most of the work.

Thanks for posting this.

[KaitainCPS]

It's uncanny. Both players draw their arms back behind them before the shot, then bring them forward to strike the ball.

[LetsGoRangers100]

@KaitainCPS such odd technique

[geto235]

@KaitainCPS I know, they both also seem to be using rackets while at the same time moving their feet. I am indeed very surprised with these similarities.

[MarkoK87]

position of foot and leg different

[slifer499]

two completely different forhands

[snoble2k]

Borg is using an eastern forehand while Federer a semiwestern grip. Note Borgs wrist is bent for whiping more spin.

[AceGuitarR7]

@snoble2k are you retarted? federer uses an eastern everyone knows this

[robertk2007]

if borg would have won just 1 US open, he is the GOAT. he played when the french open had the slowest clay to wimby where is was the fastest grass and dominated. for someone with a 2 handed backhand to dominate wimby, and served and volley is just amazing. there wasnt anything he couldnt do.

[EricEAC]

The setup and finish are similar but as Borg brings the racquet down his wrist stays neutral but as Fed drops the racquet he points it backwards deviating his wrist towards the ulna bone (ulnar deviation). This allows him to stretch the muscles of his forearm and whip the racquet through the zone getting a TON of racquet speed. Take nothing away from Borg, there is no way he could consistently hit like that with a wooden stick but it is one of the big differences in the modern forehand.

[robertk2007]

@EricEAC remember the fast grass of 1980 to the slow grass of today. federer would have to speed up his racket to keep pace. federer has a classic style so i am sure he could have done well back in the day.

[27CDruid]

I wish there was a way of slowing the shots back down again so the sport could be more about tricks and rallys, and less about hitting the ball over 120MPH.

[pnrcrew]

Greek song... :P

[bbq4000]

wait is borg using the conti?

[BeemerryNYC]

The only thing is that Borg is hitting the ball with a Donnay racket strung as tight as George Bush's backside. Federer's racket can be used to teach a mediocre hack to hit the forehand in a somewhat similiar manner with the result of a half way descent shot crossing the net 8/10 times. Borgs broomstick could not be used by said hack with the same results--perhaps 1/10 with the hope of making a half way descent shot.

[Jamus182]

@BeemerryNYC erm just to say, im not disagreeing with you in terms of the point you are trying to make. But in this vid fed is using the K-factor 90, and in the modern game, i cant think of a more difficult raquet to use, except his older one, the n-code 90. Iv used them both on a regular occasion and it is the modern day equivalent of a plank. I'm not dissagreeing with what your saying, but just incase someone read it and thinks feds racquet is piss easy to use

[laperdepaperhond312]

federer's making more use of the wrist

[bailinnumberguy]

What's w/ the music? Is this a gypsy wedding or something?

[shortpitched713]

If anything, this shows how much racket technology has changed, as it dictates how each of these forehands have to be hit.

[89Pleasek]

one's forehand is not purely about the speed, otherwise Gonzalez and Blake would dominate tennis

it's mostly about the accuracy, variety, hitting the right shot at the right time, wrong footing, running around your forehand only when it's possible to surprise your oponent

In my opinion if Federer has one of the greatest shots in tennis history, it's his forehand - Roger doesn't have the best backhands, serves, volleys - but they're all at a very good level and that makes it a killer combo

[maxver7]

Not the best serves? After Pete Sampras he is one of the best servers of all time..

[thegreatNEb]

@89Pleasek

hmm..i agree with most, but Id say Fed's serve is way up there. he's not all about power, but his placement seals it. when his serve is on its near impossible to break him

[copavida]

Federer doesnt have the best forehand; he has a great, smart and consistence game

[snoble2k]

Borg and his rivals were far better than Federer and his rivals. Borg then hit just as hard as Federer. Borg used placement over power. Today it is just power.

[nouw23]

yep right, that's why Borg and his rivals all say that federer is the best that ever picked up a racket:)

[volvariella]

Nope.

Federer hit it harder with precision and control over power.

[pithebigboss]

federer is the best

he has the best forehand

[federerbestclass]

Roger love

[mariaiomorfh]

lool!!! federer ftw! alla o dalaras pou kollaei???xaxa

[sakoulis15]

axaxaxaxaxxaxaxxaxxaxxaxaxaxax­aax gamato:P

[guilhermep15]

borg = nadal = globero BALLON baloeiro KKKKKKKK

federer = best

[979DEJAN]

also nice video

[979DEJAN]

nice song

[Tonyhayes48]

borg was in a league of his own,he invented this shot .

[usert4]

nah federers wrist is bent right back just before contact with the ball and rolls his wrist through the follow through for maximum topspin. borg has a completly stiff wrist thru the whole swing

[Samprasisthebest]

Rog's arm is straighter at contact, therefore more fully out in front of him, and therefore there is more power potential in his shot that Bjorn's. It's also much more beautiful (and scary) to watch the forehand of Federer than Borg.

[matteodinenno]

I think that Federer' forehand is a little bit overrated frome the aesthetic point of view. It looks not so much different from today's standards. Players like Lendl, Becker, Sampras had a more personal and impressive style

[Samprasisthebest]

You gotta be kidding me. Fed's forehand is (IMO) the most beautiful shot in the sport. Maybe it was just the racquets, but I never thought that Becker, Borg or Sampras's forehands were that beautiful-maybe Pete's on the run was but that's it.

[chrisbahen]

Borg in his prime with a racket frame from nowadays would be something I want to see, but never will...

[foul01]

plus, borg doesnt seen to like modern rackets too much. he tried to return from retirement with wooden rackets

[THES0L0IST]

The thing to notice though between the two players is the open stance and the short backswings. The open stance became more popular as time went on, but back then, the popular thing to do is use your plant foot, in this case their left foot, to be placed parallel to the uncoming ball. Borg was one of the first to really bring the stance to its popularity because it allows for quicker timing and good spin which is one of the reasons he was able to win Wimbledon without strictly serve and volley

[GueorguiJoukov]

I sense a sarcasm or is it nearer a critic? I like your intervention at the end; simple but yet both frustrating and nice.

Strickly serve-volley is an awful show, I must admit.

[italianthebetter]

how we can compare them?? The tennis of Federer is faster than Borg..... the modern tennis can't be compare with the '80 tennis.... I think it is more amazing........ Federer is the best player in th history of tennis, he could win more and more slam in his carrer.... maybe 15 or 16 or 17 why not.... who had win more title then him??? nobody!!! he is the King of this sport.... He is Tennis!!!

[kskopas]

wtf with the song? is it like turkish or sth?

[Asswipe44]

yeah goddamm borat up in here

[mariaiomorfh]

it is greek for god's sake! :/

[wazvan]

The whole thing is different nowadays. Beside the far more advanced technologies of ball, racket and strings, it is being trained very different, physically speaking. Furthermore, Borg never had the intention, nor the need to play a killer forehand. Federer does have both.

[Wadec]

truth be told, tennis was much easier then...

[JimAsian1]

Not Really, it's all relative. As when Bjorn played, he had his rivals, and Roger Federer has his rivals.

[vladtepes97]

not at all! i played when i was young and rarely was able to hit the ball sweetly. then, the first time i tried an oversized racquet i was impressing my friends with every swing and making beautiful swerving serves. it was the racquet, not my skill. it's TONS easier to hit the ball properly now with big racquets. much harder then.

[PhilMason99]

Bjorg's racquet would be like hitting the ball with a frying pan compared to today's technology - you need a different swing action to achieve the same result, not sure it's a fair comparison.

They're both legends of the game - possibly the top two ever - I'll leave it at that.

[locyka19]

Borg is superior in tennis.Federer is a genius as well.

[roloman4]

not many people look at bjorgs killer backhand though

[patzeram]

Borg's better. He could adjust his swing for the surface. In this video Borg clearly had more of a loop than Federer but Borg could change it depending on the situation.

[chrism216]

he just had a smaller racket...

nothing to do with the surface

[blueberryrainbow]

its the racket

[thereisnoel]

Its more the strings actually.

[Crosby4hyg]

federers forehand is better..more compact stroke

[tenniswh0re]

its alot different when using a wooden racquet

[niclassj]

Look how calm Roger is during the entire shot. Incredible.

[Rfederer987]

federers is better

[lhnkhang]

I also think so.

[PM05]

Bjorg looks like he gets under the ball more for topspin...kinda like rafa.

[lilhu93]

I can assure u that Federer could get more topspin.

[chrism216]

yeah, youre right... you can see it in the way his body moves upward.

i still think that federer puts just as much spin in it, but because he accelerates much faster than borg. thats how he gets more speed on it, also. borg couldnt do that because he had such a small racket... he wouldve hit half the shots with the frame of the racket