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Classic One Handed Backhand is not Dead!!!
For those of you that think the classic one-handed backhand of Edberg/Korda (with a moderate Eastern grip and a follow through in the classic manner towards the target without a great deal of movement (almost none) of the rear shoulder) is too weak a weapon against the heavy topspin of today's pros, you need to watch the free video on demand of today's match between Brands and Nadal, especially the first two sets.
On Roland Garros's red clay against Nadal, Brands was pushing Rafa around with that classic backhand. Granted, he was really hitting out, but there was no question of whether the shot he was hitting was adequate to the task or had too little topspin. Sure, he would have hit a safer shot with a little more topspin, but it would not have penetrated the court with the same deadly effect. Also helps to be a 6' 5" , 200 lb. block of granite. But take a good look at the conservative nature of the stroke, grip and follow-through. The VOD allows you to stop and look at points over again as you go.
BTW, the VOD feature supplied by Tennis Channel is terrific. Completely free. I don't know how many or how long they will keep the matches up, but they have 20 matches in full up from yesterday and 15 from today.
Go to:
You'll see VOD as a choice with LIVE on the upper right side of your screen.
And look for Brands to be a member of the top 20 by the end of the year if not by the end of the summer. He and his classic backhand are not a fluke. Rafa was very lucky to get out of that 2nd set tie-breaker. At 0-3, Brands just missed a winner off a forehand return of a second serve. At 3-2, Nadal slipped and, perhaps distracted, Brands missed a routine backhand approach down the line that should have ended the point. And if you want to see that backhand in action, go to the 8th point of the tie-breaker (about the 1:51:00 mark which will display when you grab the slider at the bottom of the video). Then at 4-4, Nadal benefited from a shot hitting the net and forcing an error from Brands. Of course, Nadal followed that up with two great winners, but he was lucky to still be in the tb. Brands is just 25 and just attained his highest ranking inside the top 60. Haven't seen the last two sets yet, but I love his demeanor.
don
For those of you that think the classic one-handed backhand of Edberg/Korda (with a moderate Eastern grip and a follow through in the classic manner towards the target without a great deal of movement (almost none) of the rear shoulder) is too weak a weapon against the heavy topspin of today's pros, you need to watch the free video on demand of today's match between Brands and Nadal, especially the first two sets.
On Roland Garros's red clay against Nadal, Brands was pushing Rafa around with that classic backhand. Granted, he was really hitting out, but there was no question of whether the shot he was hitting was adequate to the task or had too little topspin. Sure, he would have hit a safer shot with a little more topspin, but it would not have penetrated the court with the same deadly effect. Also helps to be a 6' 5" , 200 lb. block of granite. But take a good look at the conservative nature of the stroke, grip and follow-through. The VOD allows you to stop and look at points over again as you go.
BTW, the VOD feature supplied by Tennis Channel is terrific. Completely free. I don't know how many or how long they will keep the matches up, but they have 20 matches in full up from yesterday and 15 from today.
Go to:
You'll see VOD as a choice with LIVE on the upper right side of your screen.
And look for Brands to be a member of the top 20 by the end of the year if not by the end of the summer. He and his classic backhand are not a fluke. Rafa was very lucky to get out of that 2nd set tie-breaker. At 0-3, Brands just missed a winner off a forehand return of a second serve. At 3-2, Nadal slipped and, perhaps distracted, Brands missed a routine backhand approach down the line that should have ended the point. And if you want to see that backhand in action, go to the 8th point of the tie-breaker (about the 1:51:00 mark which will display when you grab the slider at the bottom of the video). Then at 4-4, Nadal benefited from a shot hitting the net and forcing an error from Brands. Of course, Nadal followed that up with two great winners, but he was lucky to still be in the tb. Brands is just 25 and just attained his highest ranking inside the top 60. Haven't seen the last two sets yet, but I love his demeanor.
don
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