Federer's serve analysis

[creativenaz]

When he practice serve he put cans of tennis balls on his coach's head. Thats how he practice his target

[TomTrix99]

Federer has a fantastic serve, no doubt. Don´t forget he out-aced Roddick in Wimbledon 09. But perhaps even more important: He masters all shots really well, and is a genius in combining them together. And he outsmarts his opponents with all those shots and puts the ball exactly where the opponent will have the most difficult time returning it. A true genius!

[lazios]

Federer serve at that speed to have more first and to preserve his back, he knows that with the speed and placement of the ball can do a lot of aces and service winners (of course... if service is working well that day).

Personally I have seen Roger serve over 226km (more than 140 mph)..but I could not do it for a whole game and above all with the same precision.

Would cost too much effort.

Ps Sorry, I do not speak English ... I hope explained the same

[welheytherehowareyou]

like if you got here from a textbook

[Abbasi123456789]

Wish I was 6 foot 1 :(

[federerbestcIass]

Nadal Best. class. love rafa

[konvictz0007]

individually federer doesnt have huge things better than his oponents. e.g. roddick in serving, speed with nadal etc...but its federers combination of his skills and his consistancy which make him the best.

there are better backhanders and slicers than federer, but federer sets up alot of points with his combinations of these shots.

[esi183]

yeah I see where you're coming from, but look at his forehand 2005-07. It was insane (not that much on the run though)

[sundoeco]

a player whos exemplary in every department!

[cleanplasticchild]

They didn't even show him serve.

[kundimaharaj]

i wish i could be almost perfectly consistant as he his. I can hit a hard flat serve but only like 3/5 times, otherwise i have to rely on my slow top-spin second which is not really that tricky to hit lol

[squinty1292]

Fed's forehand and footwork and slice backhand, Nalby/Safin/Agassi backhand, Pistol pete's serve and slam dunk, Nadal's speed and mental toughness, Hewitt's tenacity, Rafter/Mcenroe/Roche's volleys and Roddick's girlfriend.

Chyeah.

[pitbull103]

You must decide on one person per attribute -- otherwise it's a gross violation of the Frankenplayer rules. I disagree that Mac had better volleys than Pete, but I could be persuaded. Never saw Roche play, so can't comment. But here is my updated franken player: 1st Serve: Pete 2nd Serve: Roddick volleys: Pete half volley: McEnroe Overhead: Pete Movement: Nadal forehand: Agassi backhand up line: Agassi slice backhand: Federer backhand cross: Edberg kick serve: Edberg Mental toughness: Federer

[squinty1292]

Alright: 1st and 2nd serve: Sampras Volleys: Rafter Half Volley: Agassi Slam: Sampras Speed: Nadal Mental Toughness: Nadal Footwork: Federer Forehand: Federer Backhand: Nalbandian Slice Backhand: Federer

[pitbull103]

Really surprised by your half volley nod. Nalbandian is an interesting choice -- if he could hit it better under pressure I'd give him the nod. Again, all subjective. I like your Nadal choice for mental toughness -- really difficult there. Bjorn Borg had extraordinary mental toughness. I remember during one match the Italians were ringing bells and throwing coins during his serves. Borg never said a word and won the match.

[Nerderline]

@squinty1292 ....Slam?.....,don't you mean overhead/smash?

[AllGenreMusic]

@squinty1292 Nadal is definitely not the fastest player. He has great anticipation. While he does have tremendous footspeed, there are other players that can probably outrun Nadal. Sampras has the best 2nd serve, but in terms of 1st serve, Ivanisevic/Roddick/Karlovic are arguably a bit better. McEnroe/Edberg are considered the best volleyers, and Edberg/Kuerten have arguably better backhands than Nalbandian. Also half volleys off the baseline and half volleys at the net are not one category.

[cleanplasticchild]

@squinty1292 Federer has developed a better serve since 2009. I think his service game is better than Pete's at their best.

[hungsiuming]

@cleanplasticchild roger is pretty good in control his own game but i still think pete has the greatest serve ever, don't i think ?~

[cleanplasticchild]

@hungsiuming Still pretty good! Did you see him almost nail Andre in the face at that Hit For Haiti charity event?

[Playboyy1985]

Becker, Rafter had better Volley then Sampras

[myboomstick]

hewitt is king fed's BITCH

[pitbull103]

Ultimate Franken player -- Karlovic's serve, Pete's volleys, Rafa's movement, Fed's forehand/mental toughness, and Agassi's up-the-line backhand.

[bczh1993]

Actually, gonzalez's forehand is better.

[pitbull103]

Disagree, but it's all subjective.

[ZimmermanTelegram]

Harder, yes. Better, no.

[IricForset]

How about a player that just hits everything his way but better or more consistant than all of those players :) Oh its Federer hahaha, maybe not serve, but he holds it well enough. Like your player though.

[pitbull103]

Yes, one Federer is more than adequate.

By the way, my Frankenplayer will now have Andy Murray's movement instead of Rafa's. Good god can Murray reach some balls, but again -- Federer has incredible movement also.

Fed's greatest weapon is the brain. He fought off four set points in that third set Aussie final. Incredible.

Ol' Murray is going to win around 8 majors I think before it's all said and done. We'll see. Be well.

[beaudjangles]

@pitbull103 or federer in a world without rafa

[Wengsta158]

@pitbull103

I actually don't think it's Pete's volleys or Fed's forehand/mental toughness; It's pretty much Pete's and Fed's everything

[squinty1292]

Pete's volleys? More like Mcenroe or rafter or roche's volleys...

[angryboiy]

its cool because the guy out-aces roddick, who has the worlds fastest serve

[rockerduff1231]

roddick cant place the ball at all...agassi could hit more aces than him...but sometimes its not all about aces---sampras out aced everybody but that doesn't mean he won all the time

[ulizinho]

concerning aces and serve speed, Roddick, Karlovic and Ivanisevic are the kings among the topplayers. But concerning effectiveness, Sampras and Federer are better then the three. The question is how much risk, how much power and energy must I invest to win a point . Does not necessarily have to be an ace. A disguised serve with 190 km/h near the line causes either a direct point or a weak return that can be killed easily.

Hitting constantly over 210 km/h is very demanding.

[kreaze20]

45 out of 50... whoa!!! =P

[ApriliaNinja]

what racket does he use? 95 or tour? thanks

[GaddingImp]

he uses tour 90

[ApriliaNinja]

ok cool, thanks

[AceGuitarR7]

nope, he still uses pro staff 88. its just got a paint job.

[AceGuitarR7]

i wouldve said 6''1' was about avg height on tour?

[frobbledopp]

it is lol just the vast gulf between him and the taller people tht made him say he was small

[oneheroclass]

the commentators analysis is incorrect, due to gravity the ball will always curve downwards into the ground after being hit. so it is possible for federer to hit flat services despite only seeing a small amount of the court

[harrythelarry]

Yeah he probably could but there's more of a chance of hitting it into the net, thus being more inconsistent. If he adds slight topspin to it, it brings it just over the net and then downwards into the service box

[2222maxmax]

I definetaly agree with you!

I'm 5''10 and I serve flat at a rate of roughly 55% while hitting the ball as hard as I can (sums up to around 100-110 mph). So I figure the ball has to come downward a little bit, or else I would be serving at 0% since there is surely no court room from the height of the ball and racquet contact point.

[asbte]

it was pretty amazing to see he was still hitting aces like nothing late into the fith set.

[ulizinho]

Federer hit 50 aces in Wimby final 09 ! 50 aces out of 127 services, that is almost 4 aces out of 10 first serves!!!

It does not matter much, whether you hit an ace with 220 km/h like Karlovic or with 200-210. if you hit the line, it is unreturnable. Nadal does not hit many aces, but with the spin and side effet and his super game AFTER the serve he wins a high percentage of serve points. Resume: Sampras, Fed & Rafa have the best height. More is bad for moving, less is bad for serve

[jaitock1991]

@ulizinho

Good comment. And if you can move great while being a little taller, you will have an advantage(Murray, Delpo, Tsonga etc.). It's also worth mentioning that Fed's serve, in particular, is very tough to read, which makes it even more effective.

[CurryMum]

@ulizinho I'm not sure about the height. Justine Henin was one of if not the shortest players on tour and her serve is one of the best I've seen

[Thealmostguy]

@CurryMum Easily the most talented WTA player I've ever seen. But her serve was a liability. She struggled with it her whole career, constantly changing the grip, the toss, the stance...

[tvtotalforever]

@ulizinho the high percentage of aces in th WIM final is also a result of roddicks poor return game....

[ulizinho]

@tvtotalforever

Probably yes. However, almost all his aces came into the corners, so even if Roddick had guessed the direction, he would have had problems with a speedy serve. Against Djokovic, Roger surely would have achieved fewer aces.

Roddick was on the same level as Roger, so maybe some aces less, some lucky return could have meant the victory for good Andy.

[ulizinho]

@tvtotalforever

Fed has one of the most disguised serves in tennis, like Ivanisevic and Sampras.

In Feds 1st Wimby title vs Phillipoussis, Roger had more aces, despite a lower 1st serve percentage compared to Phil., if I remember it correctly. And consider this: The Aussie had out-aced super-returner Agassi in a previous match. So, Fed is (or was, as his return game is weak now) a superb guesser and return player. Karlovic outaced Tsonga in 09, in 2011 Tsonga outserved Roger.

[tvtotalforever]

@ulizinho true. 

[AllGenreMusic]

@ulizinho Yes but the game is going taller and taller. Federer and Nadal would be considered a bit gangly and tall for tennis decades ago. Now they are considered average, if not short. We have players like Murray, Monfils, Del Potro and Berdych who are all somewhere around 6'4" to 6'6" yet their movement is superb. May not be exactly as great as Federer and Nadal, but good enough especially when they hit so hard. I mean just look at Safin, he revolutionized the game for tall men IMO.

[ulizinho]

@AllGenreMusic

yes, the ro tennis is more and more dominated by tall guys. Djokovic is a bit taller then Fed and Rafa and has had the best movability in 2011. I have just read an interview with Jimmy Connors. He claimed that in his era it was more difficult to win tournaments, coz there were many different surfaces and thus different player types.

Somehow, the slowing down of modern surfaces forces all players to play 1 style, which now Nole is playing best. No room for serve n volley.

[AllGenreMusic]

@ulizinho No it isn't to say there is room for serve and volley but today's game is dominated by players who know when to take chances and who can minimize errors. Serve and volley is still an effective play, however, the two problems are that players who employ the strategy do it at a poor time and attempt to do it too often to make it guessable while at the same time, none of the top players, except for arguably Federer, are not used to employing serve and volley consistently..

[ulizinho]

@AllGenreMusic

and perhaps, because the average return and also passing shot of todays players is simply too good for the average serve n volley abilities. Or that players improved their return and passing abilities more than they had improved their net play.

Pete lost to Safin and Hewitt in NY...

[AllGenreMusic]

@ulizinho Eh I don't think it is that dramatic. Sure, today's returners are very good, but there were also strong returners in the past such as Connors, Agassi and Borg yet they certainly did not dominate the field aside from arguably Borg. I think the change in the racket technology and and physical nature of the game has forced players to play the percentages. The problem with Sampras against players like Safin/Hewitt, is he employed the strategy too often which won't work in today's game.

[ulizinho]

@AllGenreMusic

Yes, that is what I meant. With today´s technology of rackets and strings, it is easier or for the first time possible to hit extreme angles and super topspin. So Nadal and the likes can hit those super passing shots. You cant compare the spin of Borg with the spin of today. In the 70/80s, a netapproach was the only way to hit extreme angles as a volley and to finish the point. Today, the topplayers hit winners from 2 meters behind the vaseline.

[shurtugallll]

Federer is amazing, not the fastest serve, but he can place is anywhere he wants.

He uses a single tennis ball as target practice. He places it on the T, and can hit it :)

[Grimmjowjaguarjack]

@shurtugallll Really? Never heard of this. Wouldn't be surprised though. =]

[GueorguiJoukov]

From the 44 serves which were correct we can count there, 13 where aces. We also can notice only 4 of them are more than about 16 inches from the lines.

This deadly accurate.

[007toft007]

Pete Sampras

[Samprasisthebest]

I love this commentator. Anybody know his name?

Rog serve could go down as one of the greatest of all time, if he ups his second serve.

[julesn007]

He is Chris Bailey, a former British tennis player who sadly retried prematurely due to injury, not to be confused with Chris Bailey the Lecturer (University of Brighton.

[burnss44]

i think it`s Jason Goodall,listen at the beginning ;)

[GueorguiJoukov]

He's a rare man to serve aces ragularly on redicously slow ball.

The effects are just amazing and I have never seen such accuracy.

[Samprasisthebest]

I've seen that accuracy before....Pete Sampras? Anyway, yeah, its incredible how Fed can get a ball to spin away from an opponent on his 2nd serve, even though it may not be a very powerful serve.

[nandhini178]

this from a samprasian, Fed's serve is beautiful!!

[QuieroGuerra]

"Samprasian". I like that, lol! :)

[MapleDynasty]

+ he's in grass court. his favourite surface

[1000MileLost]

does the ball go parabola-like downwards or is it already so strongthat it just goes striaght?

[ZXcannon]

it's a parabola. thanks mainly in part to gravity, but the spin is the finishing touch.

[unfairpatriot]

thats insane! So he's only six one?!! That seems pretty tall to me. I wonder how tall the commentators are......

[Samprasisthebest]

Probably shorter, but alot of players nowadays (on the male tour) are 6'3 or 6'4.

[Named333]

holy shit thats alot of aces

[Siphodias92]

His serve is far to be perfect. In the first set of the AO, his pourcentage of first serve was like 35%. That's one of the reason he lost the match unfortunately...

[AlphaDraconis7]

one of the most under-rated parts of federes game...is his serve.

it may not be as fast as del potro's, djokovic, roddick etc... but it is sooooo accurate!! he hits all 4 corners with alarming regularity

[rockerduff1231]

federers serve is far from underrated...he's practically known just for his serves and forehands....

[AlphaDraconis7]

not true. players like karlovic, roddick, cilic are known primarily for their serves...

when someones says roger federer, the first that comes to mind is probably top spin forehand (not serving motion)...and of course his 13 grand slams

[rockerduff1231]

no. maybe you only think of his topspin forehand, because you dont have much knowledge of tennis. smart people think of his serve and forehand. his grand slams have nothing to do with his PLAY his STROKES...thats a separate entity...you are wrong

[OmgAKROMA111]

Yeah except everyone else thinks of Federer's forehand too...

[NonDairyYogurt]

i think forehand and strange (back hurting) service motion

[Thealmostguy]

Fed's average serve speed is actually faster than Nole's.

[boy2002002]

that is nice. Thanks for uploading this video.

[Siphodias92]

He should add the body serve to his repertoire, because the body serve is very difficult to return when you expect a backhand or forehand serve.

[cyrthomas]

trying to correct the mighty federer ey?

[rockerduff1231]

he does what sampras did....mixes it up to the backhand and forehand and on game point he'll give you a bullet into your chest...practically unreturnable

[boy2002002]

that was awesome. thank you.

[RogerFedererTennis93]

such a beautiful motion

[oliver756376]

thanks for uploading this