Roger Federer Forehand Analysis 2019.

Hey everyone Simon here from Top Tennis Training and in this video we're going to take a closer look at the Roger Federer forehand. Now Federer obviously has one of the best forehands in the history of the sport and in this video we're going to break down exactly why it's so good. So the first thing to mention is that Roger Federer uses an eastern forehand grip on that shot. Now this is a grip that many older players used to use, this is a grip that was very common in the 80s and in the 90s but it has kind of died away since the mid 90s. More players are using the semi-western grip and even the western grip all the way around there. Now the eastern forehand grip is basically where if I put my hand on my strings like so and I were to slide my hand down until the grip, my hand would basically be in that eastern forehand grip. It's as if the racket is flat like so and I'm gripping the racket from the back and this is the eastern forehand grip. So my index knuckle will be on this bevel here, on the back bevel. This ensures that I have the strings facing longer towards my target and ensures that I can really flatten out the shot compared to someone who uses a western forehand grip. So if you look at someone who is a clay quarter for instance, their contact zone, because they're using that western grip, the strings are closed for so long and they only open briefly at contact. Now it's much harder for them to flatten out the shot but it's a lot easier for them to get that topspin. Federer's grip allows him to hit through the court and through the ball much more and therefore allows him to really flatten out that shot compared to someone with a more extreme grip. Now Federer has also modified his swing to allow him to actually produce heavy topspin when he wants it and we're going to take a closer look at how exactly he does that. So in the preparation phase of Roger Federer's forehand, he'll start off with his eastern forehand grip of course and he's holding the throat of the racket with his non-hitting hand, this is his left hand. Now by holding the throat of my racket with my left hand, it ensures that the weight of the racket is in that left hand. My right hand can be very relaxed, very loose and my left hand is now doing the preparation, the start of the swing is controlled with that left hand and this initiates also the shoulder turn, the unit turn, which is so crucial to having a good forehand. As soon as Federer sees the ball is coming to that side, the first thing he'll do is from this position, he'll start that unit turn, that coiling with the upper body and storing the energy in the trunk, the core muscles and especially the obliques, the side abdominal muscles. He's in that ready position, he starts the unit turn and he gets to about three o'clock if we imagine a clock face around Roger, twelve o'clock is here, three o'clock is here, six o'clock is behind me, Roger starting at twelve o'clock of course, he sees the ball is coming to his forehand and he initiates that shoulder turn, that unit turn with the left hand and now he's coiled up the entire upper body straight away right at the start of the swing. Now Federer does nothing with his right hand and only uses that unit turn, he's already got the racket from twelve o'clock to three o'clock. Just from that initial unit turn in that upper body coiling sideways on, so he's sideways onto the net now and Federer's chin will almost be touching his left shoulder when he gets into the back position because he's watching the ball over his left shoulder and now the hands separate when he gets to about three or four o'clock. Another very important thing in the start of the Federer swing is the racket head, now the racket head is higher than the grip level and the reason that Federer and most pros do this is because it gives them leverage right from the start of the swing, leverage is basically force over that ball and it also gives them space to accelerate the racket without having to lift the arm too high. If my racket head and grip were on the same level, in order for me to have space now to accelerate this racket head, I'd have to lift my arm very high to have that space to then come forward and go to the ball. But by having the racket head higher than the grip in that preparation phase, now my racket head to go from this position to the contact point has to travel quite a big distance but without my arm having to go high. So it's a very compact swing but it's giving him the space he needs to actually accelerate the racket and produce that racket head speed. It all comes back to racket head speed, whatever is going to give you more racket head speed at the point of contact, the contact zone, is going to give you more power and if you want it, more spin. So Federer is creating that leverage right from the start of the swing by having the racket head higher than his grip level. Now notice also that when he's starting that swing, his racket face is facing forwards towards the court, so his racket face is like this. Some players will already have turned their hand like this right from the start of the swing and the main reason this happens is because of the grip. If Federer is using the eastern forehand grip and he's in this position, the strings will be facing forwards. Now if he changes to a semi-western or a western, his racket face will now be facing the right side of the court. So at the start of the swing, his strings are facing forwards because of his eastern forehand grip, not because he's consciously thinking, I have to keep my strings facing this way. So Federer has already created that leverage and he's already created that space to accelerate, he'll now start to drop the racket head into that pat-the-dog position. So he's going from this upright position with the racket head higher than the grip level to now the racket head being down and the strings can close in that position. So Federer's strings are closing in this position. Now there's a reason why he's doing that. He's allowing his body to produce the most amount of spin when he wants it by closing the strings. By doing this position here, now when he comes to the contact point he's going to open up, he's going to have the lag, but he has the option of going with the strings closed all the way to the point of contact if he wants to and then slightly opening them at contact and then closing them again with the windshield wiper motion. This will allow him to hit with more topspin and this is a shot that he really uses well on the clay when he wants more spin and he wants that heavier shot. He's going to go for more of the strings closing here and then coming over the ball quickly. On a faster court such as Wimbledon or on the hard courts, he might have the strings closed very briefly and then he'll have the strings open towards the side of the court, the right side of the court when he has that racket lag position here and then he'll hit through the ball a lot longer than on the clay courts when he wants more spin. So he's reached that back position and now from here Federer can manipulate the strings in that racket lag. So the racket lag is a big part of Federer's forehand success. Because he has such a flexible wrist and flexible arm, he's able to really extend that arm all the way out and create this great racket lag. He probably has the best racket lag in the history of the sport. So he's able to go from this position where the racket is quite close to his body in the preparation phase to then this position where the racket is far away from his body and he's almost extending the arm fully from here to create the most amount of lag prior to contact and then to come forward and pull the racket back in after contact. So he's got a lot of space to accelerate that racket at high high speeds simply from that racket lag. Now the only way this is possible to have that great extension in the hitting arm and that great lag in the wrist and the forearm is because of Federer's flexibility. If he was stiff, if he was tight, this would simply not work. He wouldn't have the same range of motion that he currently has because of his flexibility. Now this racket lag is crucial in getting more control and more power on that forehand. Because of the position of the strings from here, it's almost like Federer is going to hit the ball with the butt cap of the racket when he's leading the way forward. He's now creating that leverage in the arm and the racket head to then come forward at contact and then pull the racket back into his body. So this leverage is being created in that racket lag position. Now Federer in the racket lag position will also manipulate the strings. If he wants more spin, his strings will be slightly close to the ground or closed all the way. And if he wants to hit a flatter shot, he'll open the strings to the right side of the court. So if he wants more spin, it'll be in that position. If he wants a flatter shot, it'll be in that position. Another key component that sets Federer's forehand apart is at the contact point. Federer really focuses well on seeing the ball rise up from the ground onto his strings. Now the contact point happens so quick that it's almost impossible to actually see the ball hitting your racket at high speed. You can do it if you're playing soft, if you're hitting in the service box, you can actually see the ball coming off your strings. But when it's happening at very high speeds, like Federer playing a match, it's almost impossible for him to actually see that contact point. What is possible though, is for Federer to track the ball off the bounce, all the way up to his strings, and then see the ball coming off his strings. So the blur of the contact point is not important because he's seeing the ball up to the strings and coming off the strings. And this will help him to hit the cleanest possible shot that he can. If he takes his head off, if he moves his head prior to contact, if he's looking already where he's trying to hit to, that contact wouldn't be as clean. But by keeping the eyes on the ball, he's now able to hit the shot as clean as possible, and it gives him the best options on that shot, it gives him the best chance of executing a well-hit shot. Now the follow-through and finish will depend on Federer's intention on that shot. If he wants to hit with more spin, it's common that you'll see Federer's racket go from this position at contact, to a closed position very quickly, so he's closing the strings over the top of the ball, almost like he's rolling the hand and the racket over the top of the ball as he makes contact. Now this will give him more spin because of that windshield wiper motion, he's making contact, his strings are now coming over, and the tip of the racket will be up, pointing up to the sky, and then he'll finish across the body. If he wants a flatter shot, he'll stay longer with the ball, and then he'll close the strings long after the ball has come off it. So depending on the shot he's hitting, depending on what his intentions are, Federer will change the follow-through, and this is something that all players should really work on. If you want more spin on a particular shot, you can make contact and close the strings much quicker. If you want a flatter shot, you can really stay with the ball longer, and then finish long after the ball has come off your racket. Now Federer will also change where he finishes his swing. Sometimes you'll see him finishing across the chest, sometimes you'll see him finishing over his shoulder, and sometimes you'll see him finishing slightly lower down, depending on the height of the shot and what his intentions are. Now Federer uses a variety of stances, he doesn't use just one stance time and time again. You'll see Federer using the open stance very often, he'll also use the neutral stance a lot, and he uses the neutral stance much more than most of the players on the ATP Tour. He steps in with his left leg whenever he has a shorter ball, and he really transfers his weight through that shot. And because Federer uses that neutral stance, he's able to really flatten out the shot much more than a lot of the other pros, and also go forward into the net, so transition into the net much easier than if he was to use the open stance. Now if you've got a slightly shorter ball, and you're going with the open stance, you now have to hit that shot and reset and start running forward. Whereas with Federer, he has a shorter ball, he can now pounce on it with the neutral stance, use the hop-to-hop step, this left-to-left, if he wants to, and he carries on into the net. So that transition is much easier if you're using the neutral stance to come forward on those shorter balls. This will also ensure that his weight is really shifting from the back leg, so he's loading up on the right leg in the preparation phase, and as he hits, he now transfers that onto the left leg, and he can either do the hop, which will allow his bodyweight to go forward, or he can also do the pivot step, where he's coming around, and then he's ready for the next shot. So once again, the main components of Federer's forehand. Number one is his forehand grip, the eastern forehand grip. Number two is racket being in an upright position at the start of the swing, and a great coil with the upper body, that unit turn right at the start of the stroke. Number three, he gets into a very nice position on the side of his body with the racket higher than the grip, which will allow him space to then accelerate the racket without having to go behind his body's line. Then we have the racket drop position, where Federer can manipulate the string, depending on what he wants to do with that shot, he can close them more, or he can open them more. Then we have the racket lag, where he's lagging behind, the racket head is lagging behind the grip, and the wrist. Then we have the contact point, his eyes set on the ball, and then we have the follow through and the finish. Now if you've enjoyed the video, give it a thumbs up, also subscribe to the channel, and turn on the notification bell, so you get our latest videos as soon as we release them. Thanks for watching, signing off, Simon from TTT, all the best guys, see you soon.