TENNIS ATP SHOT GUIDE – With Novak Djokovic winning the ATP Finals and Switzerland clinching their first Davis Cup the men’s season is over for 2014. Before the new season starts, at Ubitennis.com we decided to look back and select the best shots and other fundamentals of the 2014 season.
With Novak Djokovic winning the ATP Finals and Switzerland clinching their first Davis Cup the men’s season is over for 2014. For the start of the 2015 season tennis fans will have to wait a bit more than a month as the players first rest and then they train for the new year.
Before the new season starts, at Ubitennis.com we decided to look back and select the best shots and other fundamentals of the 2014 season. We will look at the serve, forehand, backhand, slice, volleys, passing shots, footwork, mental toughness, overall aggressiveness, overall defence and all good but no excellence. This week we will examine the footwork and the overall defensive skills of the players.
Click here for Part 1: (Serve and Forehand)
Click here for Part 2: (Return of Serve, Backhand and Slice Backhand)
Click here for part 3: (Volleys and Passing Shots)
Footwork
This has always been a very important aspect of the game, but lately it has become even more relevant considering that tennis has become more physical and the courts slower. Good footwork allows a player to move rapidly on the court with the least effort possible, but it also gives the player balance at the moment of impact with the ball which translates in more options for that shot. Reaching the ball in time and well balanced allows players to transform defence into attack and to move as fast as possible once the ball is returned.
http://youtu.be/wCGTd1_qP9g
1) Novak Djokovic: Footwork and coordination are the aspects of the game where Nole’s body gives him a competitive advantage over the rest of the field. Djokovic reaches every corner of the tennis court with ease and he is rarely out of balance. The Serb has great control over his body shown by the ease he has in sliding on hard courts as if they were clay courts.
2) Rafael Nadal: the Majorcan has outstanding footwork which comes through mainly when he is defending or when he runs around the ball to hit his left-handed forehand from the right. Without rapid and coordinated footwork Nadal would not be able to explode the inside-out forehand which is his major offensive weapon.
3) Roger Federer: because the Swiss hardly ever plays on defence his footwork is often overlooked, but if you are lucky enough to see him live you notice how he effortlessly glides along the baseline. Federer plays tennis with his feet close to the baseline and to do so he has to be quick with his feet to find the perfect place to let his shots rip. Without this skill Federer would not be able to play with his feet on the baseline.
4) Kei Nishikori: also the Japanese player needs footwork to play his game. Nishikori stands close to the baseline and quick feet are necessary to get to the ball in time and well coordinated to hit the ball just off the bounce.
5) Andy Murray: the Brit has excellent footwork, but unlike the others on this list, he doesn’t seem to take advantage of this aspect of the game as much as the other four players. Murray is effective when playing at the back and at the net because of his quick and well placed feet that always keep him balanced for his ground strokes. This season Murray hasn’t moved as well as the previous years and it showed.
Overall Defensive Skills
Defence has become the way to play in the ATP Tour over the last decade or two. New materials and slower courts have made attacking more difficult whilst forcing the opponent to attempt one more winner seems to be the way to achieve success on the men’s circuit. 20 or 30 years ago there were baseline defenders, baseline attackers and serve and volley players, now the latter have all but disappeared and the defenders are the majority.
http://youtu.be/uAfrJoZpM00
1) Novak Djokovic: for this category there are two players that stand out from the pack, they are Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The Serb is the master of defence and he sits above the Spaniard on the list as his defensive skills work well on all surfaces. On hard-courts and grass he is the best defender on tour, on clay he is second behind Rafa. To make a winner against Nole a player must take some ridiculous risks, otherwise the ball is likely to come back and more often than not it isn’t simply a defensive lob, but it’s a dangerous ball that can cause problems.
2) Rafael Nadal: the nine times Roland Garros champion is second on the list, but on clay he is the best. Nadal has learned how to slide on clay to great effect, on other surfaces he isn’t as sharp. The defensive skills of the Spaniard are impressive just like the Serb’s, but unlike the world number one, Nadal isn’t as good at transforming defence into attack.
3) David Ferrer: the player from Valencia built his impressive career on defending and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake. Ferrer is one of the fittest players on tour and to win a rally against him a player must play perfectly, aiming for the lines otherwise Ferru will hunt the ball down and it will come back across the net. With time Ferrer has been very good in improving his attacking game, but his success is based on chasing balls at the back of the court.
4) Andy Murray: this is a skill at which the Scot excels, but it has also been a limit. Murray is very good at defending, he is capable of running down the best of shots to return the ball, but it has also been a a limit. The Brit has the offensive skills to take control of rallies and matches, but he often sits back to defend waiting for the opponent to make a mistake. Defending is a skill Murray is good at, but too often this strength turns into a weakness as it stops him from taking the game by the scruff of the neck.
5) Gilles Simon: the French player is one of the most annoying players to face on tour if you are an offensive player. Simon has to play defensively because he lacks the punch to try and reach success through winners. His ability to move rapidly combined with his ability to read opponents shots early make him a very difficult player to break down, especially because he is a master at the art of counter punching.
