This is Ian's forehand. Ian has been improving his forehand quite a lot since the past year. What can we see from Ian's forehand and what can we learn from it? How can Ian improve his forehand?
I am lucky I had already two comments about Ian's forehands. They have been very helpful.
Ian hits his forehand with a straight arm configuration just like Nadal and sometimes Federer. Ian can hit it with a reverse forehand but unfortunately the reason why Ian hits the reverse is because he has a tendency to be late due to his late shoulder turn on his preparation.
20/7/10 - 1
Ian's preparation on the forehand apparently started with a unit turn, but seeing it on super slow motion we can see clearly that the racket moves faster than the shoulders. His first movement is upward and by the time the left hand is released from the racket you can still see the right shoulder and part of the chest. To be fare Ian has been improving that element of his forehand quite considerably during the past year. While before was very clear that his unit turn was poor even with the naked eye, now only at 200 frames per second we can be sure of that.
20/7/10 - 2
So Ian starts by moving his hands up and then he turns he shoulders. The problem is that he has no time to finish his shoulder turn. On his power position he could have his shoulders more turned. On the majority of Ian's shots the power position is a bit late as it was pointed out by Richard on the comments for this post.
20/7/10 - 3
One of the elements that I like the most about Ian's forehand is that he has a compact forehand. His right hand is kept on the right side of his body throughout the swing just like the pros.
20/7/10 - 4
Watching all of his videos there is one common major aspect that is very clear. All of Ian's forehands, the ball is hit on the way down. Some of the balls are short and bouncing on the service line and Ian is still waiting for the ball with an open stance. Open stance is the best stance to use when the balls are either too fast or deep or when the contact is high, normally above waist height. Shot number 4 Ian is making contact below the waist, with a slow coming ball. He waited with an open stance and to make things harder he didn't get his body low enough. Notice the tension on Ian's head just during contact. He is lowering his head to compensate for his body being so elevated. I, (as any pro), would certainly go around the ball and would use an neutral stance bringing the left foot forward on that shot.
This is a major flaw on Ian's game and in most of all junior players (we saw how William and Milos had the same problem). The flaw's name is footwork as been pointed out in the comments to this post by Richard and a Tennis West coach. Juniors need to practice going around the ball with little steps and step in to the ball with a major left foot step, but for that they need to leave the safer baseline and adventure the middle of the court. They need to be more agile and more explosive out of the split step.
20/7/10 - 5
Ian has a powerful forehand and a very compact one. I think he might have the best forehand of all my junior students. I can't wait to see his improvements on his next post. Keep rocking those forehands Ian, let it all out!
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Hi
ReplyDeleteI really like Ians forehand because it seems very natural and has alot of interesting components.
In these 5 videos andre has linked all of Ians forehands finish over the shoulder which I like to think of it as the classical forehand finish. Watching Ian play in person at the academy he has the ability to do the reverse finish and waist level finish in a very natural way which he hasnt even thought about or been taught to develop. The type of finish Ian uses depends on his position on the court and the type of ball hes hitting and the way he does it is so natural.
Another part of ians forehand thats unique is the straight hitting arm configuration!
I think ian should work on his footwork! If you look at the timing on when ian reaches his 'power position' its long after the ball has bounced I think if he thought about getting 'set' as soon as the ball bounced with an open stance he would hit it better. He almost walks through the shot - set yourself as the ball bounces bent knees and hit.
http://members.westnet.com.au/sansom/powerposition.jpg
federer and all good players dont move from this position they explode up and hit the ball - think of setting yourself getting that right leg down stay hit.
Footwork with junior players is always the most lacking element I find because they dont think its important. I thought the same way when I was a junior even if people told me otherwise! Be a formula one racing car on the court head at shoulder height.
Hello there from Tennis West!
ReplyDeleteStumbling across this particular individuals forehand has been interesting.
Ian apparently has a unique forehand motion which in most cases, is rare to find in most players. His forehand is fully extended yet fluent, which looks like an effective and natural whip motion.
http://www.searchamelia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/federer-forehand-wrist-laid-back.jpg
The point at 22 seconds of the first recording would support my statement. In my opinion, its unique for a player to have 3 different elements in a forehand, with this being a more classic finish, and yet to see the reverse and waist level. It would definitely be interesting to see both of these elements!
There are also several flaws in his technique, particularly his footwork and preparation. An early shoulder turn would greatly assist his timing and as well as providing more options to shot selection. Playing a forehand on the run requires stability, his leg transition from right to left would not be beneficial as this transfers power to the other midway during a shot process.
I would most agree with Richard's statement, regarding the attitude junior's have towards their footwork. Footwork is critical to building consistency in all aspects of tennis, which include volleys, forehands, backhand, smash and other more advanced elements in each of those categories.
Thanks guys, Great Comments, I agree with both of you.
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