Interactive Forum September 2012: Bernard Tomic Forehand

[johnyandell]

Bernard Tomic Forehand

Take a look at the forehand of the enigmatic Aussie teenager, Bernard Tomic. I think the backswing shape is fascinating. A year ago I would have not known what to make of it. Now I think it may be an extreme version of Brian Gordon's ATP forehand. Check out the hitting arm at the time the left arm is stretched. Now watch the characteristic "flip" as the hand starts forward.

Your thoughts ladies and gentleman?

[johnyandell]

Quicktime version

[stroke]

John, I think you are spot on in calling Tomic's FH an extreme version(and by extreme I mean high end version) of the Type 3 FH. Tomic simply sets up his racquet face right behind the ball in the type 3 preparation position, at what appears to be very close to his contact point and delays his transition point as long as possible, which Brian points out is a very telling characteristic of the best type 3 FH's. His FH looks very similiar to the master type 3 FH of Federer. The biggest difference from Fed's is that Tomic does not completely straighten out his arm as he flips the racquet in preperation for contact. One thing I can't help but notice in these players like Federer and Tomic, who possess these high end type 3 FH's, is how little effort goes into producing the shot. No grunting going on here. Big difference from the high effort FH of a player like Djokovic. It appears Tomic's FH grip is also very close to Federers so he can take advantage of the more extreme wrist lay back that the more eastern grip allows(per Brian).

[julian1]

Tomic vs Djokovic

John, I think you are spot on in calling Tomic's FH an extreme version(and by extreme I mean high end version) of the Type 3 FH. Tomic simply sets up his racquet face right behind the ball in the type 3 preparation position, at what appears to be very close to his contact point and delays his transition point as long as possible, which Brian points out is a very telling characteristic of the best type 3 FH's. His FH looks very similiar to the master type 3 FH of Federer. The biggest difference from Fed's is that Tomic does not have a completely straighten out his arm as he flips the racquet in preperation for contact. One thing I can't help but notice in these players like Federer and Tomic, who possess these high end type 3 FH's, is how little effort goes into producing the shot. No grunting going on here. Big difference from the high effort FH of a player like Djokovic. It appears Tomic's FH grip is also very close to Federers so he can take advantage of the more extreme wrist lay back that the more eastern grip allows(per Brian).

The first set of a recent match Tomic vs Djokovic showed that Tomic generated less power on his forehands than Djokovic

[GeoffWilliams]

He's more of a lull murray type player, and his string and frame are set up more for control than power.

[gsheiner]

On the forehand shown, he doesn't seem to have any significant arm rotation.

I saw him play this summer in Toronto, and he doesn't have a big forehand. He hits a fairly flat ball and plays a Murray like positional game as Geoff pointed out.

My question for the group is does he benefit from what is being the type 3 forehand takeback? If he's hitting flat, would the Sampras/Lansdorp model work better?

[johnyandell]

Good question and the other one is how much he tilts the head downward and to his right.

I am assuming a ssc is good in any spin style but is he getting that with his extreme racket position.

Of course one unanswerable question--how much of his power comes from technique and how much is simply ability?

[stotty]

Short backswing

The backswing looks a little too short to me...is the flip a fraction later than others players, obviously that can only be an illusion but it looks it.

[rodvic2]

Forehand Grip

While Tomic has a similar grip to Federer he dosen't hold the racquet further down on the handle like other top players(Fed, Djoka, Nadal, Murray). I believe this is limiting the power he could generate on his forehand and keeping him from becoming an elite player.

[stotty]

Handles

While Tomic has a similar grip to Federer he dosen't hold the racquet further down on the handle like other top players(Fed, Djoka, Nadal, Murray). I believe this is limiting the power he could generate on his forehand and keeping him from becoming an elite player.

You're right, he does hold his hand higher up the handle than most. Having said that so does Verdasco, and he cracks it pretty hard. I always think the handle sits nice and deep in the palm when it's held higher, giving a nice feel of control.

It's certainly better to have the hand highish on the handle for volleying...gives a lovely, solid and compact feel.

[julian1]

Strings used by Tomic

He's more of a lull murray type player, and his string and frame are set up more for control than power.

http://www.yonexusa.com/displaygroupnewsdetail.cfm?productid=1119

Any good?