Tommy Haas

[lukman41985]

I've been studying Tommy's forehand and backhand for an hour today and I have concluded that this guy is just superb from the ground. Both sides are technically sound and he has great balance on all his groundies. Check out these clips of his backhand slice, backhand, and forehand:



He's got variety, power, and precision. What's holding him back? I have yet to check out his serve videos, but I'm guessing it's his serve maybe? I know he had shoulder surgery and since that, he has modified his serve motion. Is he a bad volleyer? He seems to move well and have excellent balance. Tommy's definitely in great shape. He seems to have the ideal tennis physique. I remember him to be skinner back when, but he looks to have worked hard on his fitness and filled out--without losing speed! Maybe there is an issue of poor shot selection? Bad mental game? Does anyone know? AJ, any ideas?

[johnyandell]

Cool visuals--even if they did push out the dimensions of the message board.
How did you do that anyway?

Re: Tommy. How bad is it to be #7 (or whatever) in the world? You can be unbelievably great and still not as good as 5 or 6 players in the world who are just a little more unbelievable. I don't think you can say, as sound as Tommy's game is, say he has quite the firepower of the Slam champion players.

[lukman41985]

With regard to the videos, I just made the dimensions of the video smaller.

Back to Tommy: I think he has the firepower off the ground, but maybe not off the serve. The serve videos I looked at last night looked good, but he doesn't have the precision of a Federer, the all out power of a Roddick, or the heaviness of a Safin. Mentally, I think Haas could definitely improve. He has more firepower than Hewitt, but Hewitt holds himself together much better than Tommy. While doing an image search last night, I found plenty of pictures of Tommy smashing his racquet, flipping the bird, etc. I even found a picture of him trying to break a racquet over his knee:
AJ had a good point in his Notes on the Tour entry about how winning the "Comeback Player of the Year" award could take some pressure off Tommy. I think it's done the opposite where now he wants to prove he's more than just a comeback player, he's the player he was in 2002 when he became #2 in the world. Additionally, I wonder if being the only high ranked German player takes a toll on him. Playing in the shadow of Becker and Stich can't be easy.

[ajchabria]

Tommy Haas

Tommy has all the strokes to win Slams. I think he always has, but he's so finicky. [excuses, wind, the other guy tree-ing, string tension, etcetera] Every element (internal and external) needs to be in place for him to win tournaments.

The ability to thoroughly outclass 90% of the tour? Of course. A herculean effort here and there? Sure. Seven 3 out of 5's over 13 days? I'd love to see it, but as you guys pointed out -- he lacks the serve of Roddick, the adaptability of Federer, the power of Safin, and he definitely is nowhere near as 'hard' as Hewitt, Andre or Nadal. Did I just include and 18 year old in that list?

Here's a little insight from a guy I hit with who was in young Tommy's group at the NBTA about 10-15 years ago: "this kid lead a charmed existence. He was royalty. Entourage, agents, physio, multiple coaches, contracts, guarantees, you name it. This is all WELL before his first ATP point."

It makes me think of the Rick Riley line about rooting for Duke to win the NCAA basketball tournament or the Yankees to win the pennant...or Brad Pitt to get the girl.

Lots to live up to, which cannot be easy. It must be even tougher to maintain your confidence and your love for the game while you get injured and watch the other guys bring home the titles you think are yours.

In the end, I think he's got more style than substance. More in common with Paradorn and Philippoussis than Federer and Hewitt. Wonder if he can turn that around?

[johnyandell]

Well for once I disagree with AJ. Actually I agree with AJ about the whole Bollettieri thing--and you can still see that in the way he treats Nick and Red--dissin' them after getting smashed at the Open by Pete! That right there will show you his mind is not right...

BUT I just don't think he is in the ultra stratosphere as a talent. The firepower in my view is 5% lacking--he just looks a little stiff and not as fluid as the very very top guys. So poor Tommy--deep down inside he probably blames himself and just happens to take it out on the entourage.

Let me be clear. I might kill a small animal if I could hit 50 of his backhands and know what that feels like. (Not realy, not really...) But I do think the backhand return videos are some of the very best stuff on the site and he is a great technical model off that wing. The serve? Tommy, ditch the pinpoint!!!!! Even Nick B. agreed when I showed him Tommy side by side with Pete...

[lukman41985]

Yea, he really moves his feet around a lot in that pinpoint stance. With that much motion, you can't be very consistent. Thanks John for the great leg action video of the Haas serve. Also, I like the point you made in the myths section about the drawback to the pinpoint stance:

"They may believe this is helping them get more leg action into the shot. But we've seen that's not true. But what's worse, it's causing them all kinds of rotational problems. It just doesn't look natural or smooth and you can see it bind up their motions and the release of energy into the shot."

Of course with a guy as stubborn as Tommy, one of the greatest coaches of all time, Nick B., can't reach him. The whole story really reminds me of Phil Mickelson in golf. Both guys were groomed from the start, have big entourages, handsome, and gifted beyond belief. What Phil had working for him, and what Tommy is DESPERATELY lacking, is an appreciation for the fans. I'd love to see Tommy open up, take it easy, and admit he's wrong. But, part of what makes an athlete great is his/her stubborness.