Tennis Backhand Topspin Drive - Rod Laver

[HawaiiProTennis]

It seems that Laver's backhand grip was more continental then it was eastern backhand grip like Federer and most of the guys today . Mcenroe, had similar grip. It seems that the continental is better for picking up low balls and driving hard flat shots. Eastern Bh grips seem more advantageous for topspin and require the change of grip for slice. you agree Brent???

[webtennis]

@HawaiiProTennis I agree with the Continental grip for Rod. The very low pick up is tough with a full eastern bh grip unless you can generate the kind of racket speed that Fed can.

[webtennis]

@HawaiiProTennis Agree that a backhand topspin drive is easier with an eastern bh grip, BUT it's very possible to play this shot with a Continental.

You have to adjust your contact point...

Brent

[YOU2UUB]

ROD LAVER WAS MY FAVORITE ALL TIME TENNIS PLAYER

[lxbertxl123]

youtube is not a forum.

[JIM2u007]

Fabulous vintage clip! Rod had the most amazing topspin backhand drive - long before it became standard. It was such a treat seeing him hit that shot - other top 10 players would sit in the stands to watch "the Rocket" play. Ilie Nastase and Manuel Orantes to name a couple because they so admired him. Rod was an incredible shot maker with that little Dunlop Maxply. The backhand was the solid foundation of his game and 2 grand slams. Thx for posting this!!

[baritono81]

I respect Laver, but players today with their equipment, they have redefined this stroke. Gasquet and Federer have changed it so much it is hard to compare to what's in this video. Look at body alignment, knee bend, head position, follow through, hip rotation, point of contact, and the list goes on. Federer's is more versatile, more complex, and more difficult an action to execute than Laver's; and, as stated, Federer's is more effective.

[Sadyv]

Federer's backhand is not top shelf. At its best its a solid rally stroke, and his short crosscourt slice is a nice shot, but it is now and always has been a shot that can be attacked and broken down.

[tlp26atx]

u r stoned. it's his backhand that has helped him win all these damn majors. when his career started it was a weakness, and lost him alot of matches. as it got better, his game improved and he started winning damn near everything.

[socdud]

his backhand has always been the "weakness" of his game if you can call it that. his forehand has seriously been his kill shot his entire career. do some homework. his backhand has been the thing that he has changed most in his career and has gotten progressively worse in his career.

[tlp26atx]

when his backhand became stronger her became a champion, that's what agassi had to say about it so maybe you should do some homework.THere's no way you can say his backhand is a weakness. it's the return of serve on the backhand that helpd him win Wimbledon. Odviously, people try to hit to hid bsckhand more, the fact that he;s won so damn much shows that he has an extremly good backhand. Then, yes he uses his forehand.Progressively worse? you have no clue what you're talking about.

[socdud]

ok bro, how did nadal beat him at wimbledon? he hit literally every serve to his backhand. nadal is ranked 1 in the world now. so my pt is the world's number one obviously saw that his backhand is worse than his forehand. you say his backhand has been the strength, then obviously it must be getting progressively worse, if his forehand is now the strength. that may explain why he lost the aussie, got killed in the french, and lost his home turf, wimbledon.

[tlp26atx]

his losing to nadal has nothing to do with his strokes. It's his strategy that's wrong. his backhand is damn good. ask blake and agassii about his down the line backhand. as for losing the french, all he did was lose to one of the 2 best clay courters of all time, on his best surface. not that big a deal. for wimbledon, he lost because he choked away the second set, and it was dark in the fifth set. not cause of his backhand. match pt down-running bkhand winner down the line!

[socdud]

i agree with you. he has an excellent backhand and it's hard to find a weakness. my pt. is if you are to give roger federer a weakness, i would say his weakest part of his game is his backhand. and the fifth set was dark for both players. so he had as much disadvantage as nadal.

[kjetin99]

Borg had a tremendeous topspin already in 1972 from both sides. I played with him 100 of times so I know.

[Kishnabe]

Really you played with one of the greatest players ever.

[JIM2u007]

Borg took topspin to another level. That a 'baseliner' won Wimbledon was unheard of but 5X???!!! It took a much larger swing and perfect perfect timing to hit that kind of topspin and pace with a tiny wooden racquet face - it's really hard to appreciate that today. Nastase called him 'inhuman'. Yes, Borg was an alien from space. You must be quite the player yourself!!

[bassidol]

Actually Laver used topsin on his backhand rather sparingly - mostly for passing shots or as an approach shot. The majority of backhands were sliced. So a comparison to Borg is a bit misplaced, since almost everything Borg hit was topspin. In terms of severity of topspin, Laver's shots of both wings seem more pronounced. Borg's topspin, though less severe than Laver's, could be controlled for an entire match. In that sense his game was the precursor for today's baseline bashfests.

[gugalpm]

Topspin my ass. Look at wher he's hitting it. Flat.

[fsimond]

Great analysis Brent.

I think that this particular shot is more a flat stroke than a topspin backhand.

[rprimbs]

I don't know if Laver was better than Federer, but I have heard that he has coached Federer. So Federer has learned from some of the best

[polipoli7]

i think so because their backhands are desame

[IricForset]

I dont think so. Where did you here this? Federer was coached by Peter Carter, an Australian, so perhaps Carter influenced his style with Laver's and Lendl/Borg's in mind, but everyone says that Federer's shots were natural, which is why hes just so good, because he is a natural....obviously :)

[injury999]

thx for this i myt learn a few things just one question is that amount of topspin possible with my current racket the kfactor. i always try a lot of topspin on my forehand and it doesnt really work is it bcoz its heavy?

[IricForset]

Try relaxing the wrist a bit and remember that topspin should go down to up, and always hit through the ball. Sorry to sound like a tool, but I have this problem sometimes; hit the ball way to flat and net it.

[IricForset]

oh yeah a good tip I thought i would pass on is to always watch the back of the ball. Never take your eye off it. It worked wonders for me a few weeks ago. I used to watch the ball prettyl badly but watching it from behind made my forehand so much better.

[IricForset]

It is important to remember the way in which he hits the ball, as a result of the style of racquet etc. Racquets today, allow for more of a wrist-rolling action, while you will find the old racquets were better suited for flicks. The body and arm movements should be a result of the type of shot you want, not the other way around, please dont try to copy other players, but always keep in mind the basic points to remember when going for your shot. Footwork first, body and arms, follow through.

[notthelastword]

I think Laver had more talent than Mcenroe. More than Federer? Hard to say.

[GeorgeArreitia]

There's never been anyone as talented as McEnroe and I think there will never be (at least for my eyes to see...), I'm talking about TALENT, forget the power. Just my opinion.

[datacipher]

Completely agree. Federer can't match Mcenroe in terms of pure talent. I rank Laver above Federer as well for all around ability. Federer would be no slouch at 1 notch below in the talent scale. Would stick Sampras somewhere near Laver.

[patma2003]

What you see today is Roger Federer modernising a Laver one hander - (by Peter Carter - South Australian coach of federer from 8 yrs of age or something). Both he and Laver can perform the unthinkable simply by staying tru to the fundamental points raised in this video.

[patma2003]

yeah... contrary to popular belief, the backhand heavily topspun was actually a prominent (due primarily to Laver) stroke prior to Borg. Stan Smith had a legendary, smooth one handed backhand and you may find his more celebrated than Lavers' bh. (maybe due to the massively tennis boom in the states post 1970.)

[PanzerDivisionLaver]

good ol' uncle Rod

[notthelastword]

Your uncle?

[someoneelsenothere]

the problem is that older generations of players hit with very little top spin

[webtennis]

Rod Laver generated a ton of topspin off of his backhand groundstroke. He could hit dipping passing shots and drive his topspin backhand where it really penetrated through the bounce.

I've got a great DVD titled "The Kings of the Court" that has 10 of the all-time great players demonstrating strokes you can copy and model over at WebTennis. net Thanks for your interest. Brent

[IricForset]

Hey, thanks for the great post. Could you please upload some more short vids like this.  They are great, especially coming from the pros of wooden racquet era.

[theatlantean1]

@webtennis Great video, mate. Laver had the most beautiful strokes. Can you imagine the spin and pace he would get with today's strings and rackets? It would be amazing. People who never played with the small wooden rackets have no clue how hard it was to hit the sweet-spot consistently. I sometimes make my students hit with my old Jack Kramer Pro Staff, just to show them how hard it was. Most of the two-handed backhand players are shanking every other shot, and these are tournament-level playrs

[webtennis]

@theatlantean1 No question that if you put a wood racket into a younger player's hand and said go ahead and rip your topspin, the dose of reality would be a real eye opener.

Thanks for your great comment!

Brent

[talestar]

wow cool had some lessons of a coach but had problems with consistency great vid really helps understand

[BashfulBob]

This tip is great. I have had some problems with consistency on the backhand but simply remembering to bend my arm prior to contact actually works!

[wfoulk2313]

Sticks to a couple of important points.