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This month's TPN Tour Portrait of "Project 45" Kei Nishikori meshes with John's feature on backhand technique, since Kei has long had one of the best, two-handers in the ATP. I took these shots of Kei across multiple events over nearly 2 decades. Nice also to see him playing in the Tokyo Olympics.
Check out the Nishikori album here: https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...kei_nishikori/
One thing that struck me, as I looked at the still photos, is how much Kei changes his backhand grip. It looks to be like his hands are together on normal ground strokes, but he spreads them substantially on high shots, here shown returning Rafael Nadal's serves and ground strokes. Kei splits the grip perhaps to get control and leveral on the high, heavy shots, I presume. He did a good job of returning Rafa's shot, hitting firm, deep returns - although he ultimately lost that match at Indian Wells. Look also at how he leans into the high, kicking ball.
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Check out the Nishikori album here: https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...kei_nishikori/
One thing that struck me, as I looked at the still photos, is how much Kei changes his backhand grip. It looks to be like his hands are together on normal ground strokes, but he spreads them substantially on high shots, here shown returning Rafael Nadal's serves and ground strokes. Kei splits the grip perhaps to get control and leveral on the high, heavy shots, I presume. He did a good job of returning Rafa's shot, hitting firm, deep returns - although he ultimately lost that match at Indian Wells. Look also at how he leans into the high, kicking ball.
filedata/fetch?id=94877&d=1627922182&type=thumb