Roger Federer: Forehand Analysis

[xxMASTAxNINJAxx]

Greatest Video! and very helpful because he is easiest pro to copy on tennis strokes.

[MrKidochi]

OMG I didn't know moving your head meant THAT much difference in timing and the projection of the racket. I learned a lot from this video and I thank the commenter and the channel.

[ElBluesummer]

The thing that kills me is federer's fluidity all the way through the stoke. Like when he's up in the air and his follow-through is coming around and he's so relaxed that the momentum of his swing rotates his upper body completely around long after contact. Has there ever been a pro tennis player that hit with such grace? It's like watching a professional dancer.

[CuprousChloride]

I know man. It's like he's having an out-of-body experience when he's performing.

[gotobedpicks]

people have made tons of money off this forehand!!

[napisanmax]

It"s the only thing that equals the awesomeness of a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick

[wind1357]

I think he just hit early. Everyone is thinking too much about this.

[TaoAlaska]

I think you're not thinking enough...these guys are professionals, this is their time spent here, perfecting their skill, trust me the FedEx knows exactly what he's doing.

[wind1357]

you seriously thinks he is thinking so much during a shot that last less than a sec? At the end everything comes down to one concept.

[TaoAlaska]

No sir, once their practiced skills become perfected it takes no thinking, you just know what to do with any given situation. That's why I made a point of saying they are professionals and they know what they're doing. And hitting early is part of his perfected skill; like I said the Fed knows what he's doing.

[wind1357]

Well, I am just letting other people know that hitting early is part of his game. I think we are talking about the same thing without realizing it which is ridiculous.

[TaoAlaska]

Ah I see ;)

[Kubina001]

He is God..absolutly..

[bernabemido]

He is a robot

[msane4XX]

Did Roger just have a really good coach?

[GueorguiJoukov]

No, he didn't really had a good coach and it happened quite often that he fired his coach or have not resigned him.

I don't know if he even has a coach right now. He's got a team, yes; but they are not talking to him about his motion or his positionning. Some are former pros he knows and they are there to discuss with him about strategy and very detailed things.

[ariq94]

i love his forehand

[Auricchia]

pe RF ect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Carini13]

haha thats pretty good

[millionairejh]

i love rogers forehand, but for some reason in this vid, it might have been the angle, it caused his arm to look sorta weird, like dislocated or something lol

[GueorguiJoukov]

Well, he picked it more in front, agressivly as the commentator described; but it' nto causing any pai nbecause the following wrist action and arm rotation combined does not torque the elbow inward, but outward.

This is just to mention it is not dangerous at all, because he's not imparting sudden force o nit, nor does he torques it at any moment. He just whips it and his titles are there to show the results.

[linkinjavier12345]

JAVIER FRANA my favorite announcer

de espn latinoamerica

[RMarsenal]

federer has the G.O.A.T forehand

[shaaaante]

What is G.O.A.T mean?

[mytennis4you]

Greatest of all time ;-)

[GueorguiJoukov]

Right.

But, his backhand ain't bad too! LOL

[1080portal]

game of the year lol

[jfkpublicservant]

@shaaaante It is a synonym Roger Federer.

[florida1117]

@shaaaante some retard ebonic speaking idiot made it up. its awful

[igoturnose1]

thats not tru

[General0208]

May i ask where can u get the background music????

many thanks

[YaMumYaNanYaGran]

So he doesn't look where he is hitting the ball. He is feeling the court. Thats awesome.

[MattScottUK]

Looking over the net to see where you want to hit the ball doesn't make it go there! The decision to place the ball in a specific court area has already been made BEFORE playing the stroke. To execute the stroke properly pro players focus on the hitting zone and keep the head still until after the follow through and the ball is on its way.

[bzhang5]

This was not entirely correct. You dont want to make contact as far out as you can. If you do that, often times the ball will end up in the net. Contact should be made slightly out in front.

[MattScottUK]

It has been documented that Roger Federer meets the ball further out in front than any other player - see Federer Vision by Mark Papas. Many players have a slightly bent elbow when meeting the ball - Federer when playing his best had superb timing on his forehand and made contact with the ball with a full arm extension. The commentator on this video is entirely correct - it is absolutely evident that Federer's arm has fully straightened before ball contact.

[tolendoi123]

I agree with Nekrohol that is an eastern, roger just try to loosen his hand thats why his swing is so fast.... the semi and full western swing is very different if you play tennis^_^ players keep on saying extreme eastern maybe because they can't accept that their westernish grip is not used by roger^_^

[Nekrohol]

Federer's grip is a plain 'ol eastern, always has been, always will. If you know anything about tennis you'd know this.

[chasunc03]

Actually, it isn't so obvious. Federer's racket swing path resembles the windshield wiper stroke (western) that ends not at the top of the shoulder (eastern) but more toward the side of the body. sampras clearly demonstrates this with his eastern grip technique.

[wind1357]

i like his jumping forehand better. He jump toward the ball with his weight and just pound it. Even though the ball end up way short nadal couldn't do anything about it because it is too fast.

[ampiciline]

the only draw bak on serjie's forhand is on the return of serve. It is heavy heavy western grip. So, I tell my students to chip the return with continental.Thats one part that i dont like .I must admit .

[ampiciline]

This is called " L" shape position 0:10 .Rolling his wrist is called "windshield" motion .I usally teach " serji Bougera's" forhand to my students. Nadal and moya copied theirs from serji too .Hossein ,Iran

[meetube2]

the eye contact is the main weapon for all his winners and victories...

[ThirdDrunkDog]

very very nice video! Interesting to see how federer use his forehand. I really apreciate that you have posted this video! Thanks a lot!

[game190294]

how does he get so much pace on the ball

[onlytennisforme]

thx for the post. i don't think federers grip is such a key component for his victories but rather his style of play and the correct form along with good sence of balance that allows him to be such an all around complete player. Although his forehand will probably go down the history as one of the very best.

[nurman12]

what grip is federer using? is it semi western

[mytennis4you]

It's right between Eastern and Semi-western.

[dice017]

his a grip master! ! ! dats y he has 13 grand slam! ! ! he can grip the racket with ease... and he plays with a small handle... dats y its easy for him to grip the racket...

[purgatory13z]

he actually uses a 4 and 3/8, about right for his height.

[dice017]

oh i thought it was smaller but thanks for the info and i actually uses the same size handle too.

[purgatory13z]

yea, no worries. I use the same racket with identical grip and string, lol. That's assuming he's not actually still playing with the old prostaff 85... hard to tell what rackets players are using these days. Even when blake said he was using prince, he still had his old dunlop.

[divinesoldier22]

haha yep, spec rackets. they color them mondernly but usaly they are extremley lighter in thier weight, dimensions, ect. then they would sell to the public. so people think theyre actually buying the real thing (what the pros have). Federer uses Pete Sampras's racket with less lead tape then Pete.

[purgatory13z]

Pete's racket was actually 13.4 ounces, and head heavy!! can you believe it?  And I do think that the rackets are similar, but some pros do prefer much lighter rackets. Those with more classic styles sometimes stay with a heavier racket though.

[purgatory13z]

@divinesoldier22 I know that this was 2 years ago, but are you saying that the rackets the pros use are lighter?

[annaarora]

the way i try to emulate him is as folllows:

1.footwork-double bend structure

2.contact in front of body using as straight a hand as possible

3. contact through the ball

4. finish around the shoulder with racket parallel to net(nostrings should show

what do you think about this pls comment

[evilmunki54]

Cheers!

[JaffaRafa]

its like a sling shot

[kbjessm]

Thanks for posting

Federer's forehand is very various

[evilmunki54]

Go Jason Goodall!!

[sivonjasaprkosa]

Thx for postin' this video,I tried to understand why does he always keep his eyes of the court...He always looks at the ground....

Roger the Legend.

[AufleyStrange]

um question why is it importatn to keep your eye on the contact point after the hit

[mytennis4you]

It improves your balance, because your torso can not lean over. And with better balance you can improve your swing speed.

[AufleyStrange]

oh okay, thanks

[TimeKillers]

yeah the eye on contact point is his "secret". it improves the forehand SO much

[CowsGoMooMeow]

Your a douche, TimeKiller, if you really are being sarcastic like I think you are.

[TimeKillers]

im not being sarcastic in any way. i use the eye contact myself. it improves everything that was mentioned above.... dont just judge me and call me a douche

[Misterowningshaman]

look all the shot happens in half a second or something - it`s not jsut because of his balance, it`s also that he focusses the ball just until he hits it (so he hit it better, in the middle of the raquet)and because it goes so fast his eyes are still down there

[THES0L0IST]

Why would TimeKillers be a sarcastic? Eye contact is probably the biggest key to Federer's consistency. And the main thing is, you should keep your head looking at the contact point even after the ball is hit like Federer does or else like the announcer said, you'll mistime the stroke. It has the same techniques as a golf swing terms of using your body weight forward, position your body to the ball and having correct eye contact.

[TimeKillers]

thanks man

[therocker412325]

das ist toll! but wat grip is that???

[AznHylite]

its a little bit more extreme than an eastern, but its not as extreme as a semi-western. it's right in between, which allows for flat shots as well as topspin shots.

[oooodaxteroooo]

Is that anything special??? More impressive is the body posture and swing power... I think.

[SunSigil]

you are absolutely right, pat yourself on the back. People have trouble accepting that he does not use a semi-western

[verikosasetya]

eastern / forehand