Interactive Forum March 2009: Nicolas Almagro - Serve

[EricMatuszewski]

With all of the attention Rafa gets, it's easy to forget about the tremendous depth of Spanish tennis. Nicolas Almagro is an example of just how deep Spainish tennis runs.

This month we examine his snappy quick service motion, one of his big weapons.

Does Almagro time his body segments differently than other players?
Why does his motion look so quick?
How would you compare his toss to the others out there?
What about his knee bend?


Almagro Serve - Ad Court



Almagro Serve - Deuce Court

[EricMatuszewski]

QuickTime Versions

Almagro Serve - Ad Court




Almagro Serve - Deuce Court

[stroke]

I am glad to see Almagro's serve up here. He has one of the best serves out there, particularly for a guy that is not particularly tall by today's standards. His kick serve is really something. It has so much action on it. I remember watching a clay court tornament last year and J Gimelstob was commentating and he kept pointing out how Alamgro's kick serve was so lethal. He has a pretty quick motion, with a relatively low toss, and not a real deep knee bend. One thing that stands out, he does seem to have as John would say "a shoulder touched by God". His forearm gets well past parallel at the deepest drop position, maybe even as past parallel as Roddick.

[hyperwarrior]

Hopefully, you'll get a forehand footage from him one day. I really like his forehand!

[stickman]

FOREHAND!!! FOREHAND!!! have you seen his backhand? Down the line is amaZing! FOrehand's pretty good to thoe

[jczenisek]

Compact, Simple, huge...

All of the crucial components to having a great serve are in his motion nothing more, nothing less. It really is a pretty solid motion, I had never noticed before these images were posted.
His knee bend may not be as exaggerated as someone like Roddick, or other great servers, but his motion is his own, and its very simple. which is what makes it lethal as well as reliable. He Tosses the ball just above where he will make contact with it, but his backswing is compact and constantly accelerating all the way through follow through which allows him to make a low toss. Its definitely a good motion to study and to model because there is so little that can go wrong with it because it is so simple and compact. Good stuff.

[teebken]

Kiss

"its very simple. which is what makes it lethal as well as reliable" I couldn't agree more. When that match pressure is building "simple" is a 'must-have' asset.