There are incapable teachers, no stubborn students
Tennis in 50 years: (if you see "black", please download
quicktime for viewing)
1955 (Gonzales) 1985 (Lendl) 2005 (Federer)
Does Federer play much better tennis than Gonzales and Lendl? Hard to say, however, one thing is sure: Federer plays
tennis with better consistancy!!! See statistics below:
Mr. Consistency:
Since 2005, Roger Federer's numbers in several key areas—including the percentage of points he wins off his first serve, second serve and return game— have stayed nearly identical.
| Year | SERVE GAMES WON | 1ST SERVE % | 1ST SERVE PTS. WON | 2ND SERVE PTS. WON | 1ST RETURN PTS. WON | BREAK PTS. CONVERTED |
| 2005 | 89% | 63% | 76% | 59% | 35% | 44% |
| 2006 | 90% | 63% | 77% | 59% | 35% | 43% |
| 2007 | 89% | 62% | 77% | 59% | 34% | 41% |
| 2008 | 89% | 64% | 77% | 58% | 32% | 41% |
| 2009 | 90% | 62% | 79% | 57% | 31% | 42% |
My coach style: consistency, consistency and consistency
What is Federer's top secret in his forehand? Not the way he hits
the ball, but the way he approaches the ball ...
elevate lateral move flexed leg push abrupt heel-toe weight transfer jump to hit
Federer's footwork: artful and efficient (from Geoff Macdoald, New York Times 8/31/09)
Two phases in approaching the ball: 1) reaction and 2) action
1) reaction: - when his opponent start to hit the ball, Federer elevates (1st body reaction)
- when deciding forehand or backhand, Federer start lateral move on his foot (2nd body reaction)
2) action: - positioning for the shot by flexed leg push
- mantaining good body balance by exaggerated heel-toe motion
- smooth weight transfer and jump to hit ball by kinetic chain
Example 1:
Coach one-hand backhand by visual instruction
(Federer's backhand)
0. relax shoulder, reflex arm, and hold racket "light"
1. full shoulder turn (show logo on your back, racket cup pointing to side)
2. trunk-shoulder-forearm rotation (kinetic chain)
3. racket cup pointing to the ball with racket head drop (for low to high swing)
4. watch the ball and keep head static
1. straight arm to "far" contact (body behind the ball)
2. vertical at sweetspot with "firm" hand
3. hit ball by shoulder drived forearm rotation
4. racket head higher than hand
"Air your armpit" in finish
1. no need to finish with body open
2. but need to finish with straight arm high
3. head is still and steady (eyes no need to follow the ball)
Example 2:
Coach high forehand by visual instruction
Align racket to the coming ball at the same hight (raise your arm!)
Keep laid back the wrist in both high and low forehand:
Racket cup (butt) points to the ball, and the wrist is in a laid-back position
Wrong racket orientation (wrist is NOT laid-back):
Example 3:
Coach power serve by visual instruction:
- lift ball up (ball out of hand high at last second)
- Trophy position (to build-up energy from body):
- Tiwist hitting arm (to build-up energy from arm):
- Throw the javelin (racket butt points front, L shape before contact)
- Forearm+wrist pronation for acceleration:
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Example 4:
Why is Roger Federer called the best tennis player in history?
You want to see how Federer transcend tennis before taking a single swing?
It is not his stroke differentiating from others
He has the “anticipation” of Larry Bird
He has the “athleticism” of Michael Jordan
He has the “nimble feet” of Jerry Rice
He has the “timing” of Wayne Gretzky
He has the “poetic power” of Muhammad Ali
Most of all, He is Mikhail Baryshnikov (ballet dancer) of tennis!
It is his footwork making THE differences: Federer experts his power from the ground up.
Grace stems from player’s awareness of feet and the way movement flows from there: move easily in balance… like a ballet dancer, gliding above the court…
Artful footwork means: - using crisp, tiny and deliberate steps
- using long, loping strides
- move more laterally, than vertically on court
Method to study footwork (borrowed from Bruce Lee, martial master), David Bailey breaks tennis footwork into what he called 15 contact moves...
You can link to Youtube: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5105893091453838331#, to learn more on footwork.