Federer's sidearm pitch

[ochi]

During the Cincy final, Cliff Drysdale ran a slo-mo of Federer hitting a forehand, remarking on his wonderful footwork. What I noticed for the first time was that Roger hit his forehand the way a professional sidearm pitch is thrown. That is, his arm was all loose hinges, start to finish -- going back, and then forward to the strike. Perhaps that explains not only why he was able to blast so many terrific shots, but also why he had about 40 forehand errors in two sets. There's probably something on this in the TennisPlayer archive, but I haven't come across it yet. Did Federer stiffen his wrist at impact; is this the secret of his racquethead speed; does he do it on all forehands; and should we emulate this? It seems to me that plenty can wrong with this complex technique. I have yet to try it. It's continual intermittent rain here in New Jersey.

[johnyandell]

In the Advanced Tennis section, there is a detailed two part article on his forehand but I would not agree with the analogy to a side arm pitch. Fed's wrist and arm are the opposite of stiff.