82% forehands is the key here. Tsitsipas' bh stood up to pressure (I still think he'd been better off with a two-hander) but not having to hit it very much is what won him this match.
Yep, amazing footwork, but also an amazing forehand that allows him to generate a lot of pace and spin with a compact swing. This makes him better on the run to his own forehand than Ruud as well.
Another key to Tsitsipas' success is how the fh opens up the physicality of the game for him. It can be hard to remember bc of the camera angles, but Tsitsipas is a BEAST. If he'd been born in America, he would be an NBA guard or NFL wide receiver. They would have put 15-20 lbs of muscle on him and given him a helmet. He's so physically impressive and when he can step into the court and come forward he can dominate. When he's able to move around and get the fh, he starts to run more and the space on the court becomes an asset. When he's boxed in hitting bh's, he gets very normal.
What's the problem with the Tsitsipas backhand technically? Or is it more footwork related? He always seems to be very face-on as he makes contact, a lot of arm and not a lot of body
I don't think there is something particularly wrong with it technically. I think the trouble he gets into is not having a reliable slice to fall back on, so he ends up taking on topspin one-handers against really difficult shots (incoming first serves and fast/wide balls during rallies). With that being said, I am more a fan of straightening the hitting arm earlier in the backswing (like Shapo and Thiem). Wrote about this stuff here:
Gotcha, yeah I remember the talk about his slice being pretty weak. It seemed like he was using it more in Paris late last year, but I guess that was just temporary
Hugh - would you say that there is a similarity between the way you describe Tsitsipas’ forehand and Sinner’s backhand? Atleast before the follow through, both seem to have some “whipping” action right before contact that can be very effective.
Yeah I think so. There is a large flip from out-to-in as they start to unload their legs and torso, and this creates that whip effect which then slingshots the racquet from in-to-out. Really effective way to generate a lot of racquet speed and topspin.
I love the Tsitsipas forehand technique. It reminds me somewhat of a more compact updated Del Potro forehand. Rublev to me has very similar technique and both have a mild semi western grip, which helps them getting off the front foot and really taking the ball on early. Both Tsitsipas and Rublev drop the racquet more on edge and the strings of the racquet stay more facing the ball than a lot of players like Sinner and Ruud. Tsitsipas gets even more spin than Rublev, and may have the second best clay court forehand in tennis, behind Nadal. Certainly the shot quality numbers in Monte Carlo reflect how good the Tsitsipas forehand is.
The straight hitting arm and more conservative grip is kind of delpo-esque (Although delpo was more of a true eastern and Tsitsi is something more like a SW with his hand aligned for a little more of a 'composite' setup). Both Rublev and Tsitsi keep their index finger closer to the rest of their fingers and I wonder if this is a factor that makes them go more 'palm up' in the backswing to produce that on edge racquet you mentioned. There's an article on this I'm tinkering with.
That would to me would be very interesting. I too have noticed this more of a closed fist grip both Rublev and Tsitsipas use, which is certainly unusual with the mild semi western grip. Sock also did this, but he was pretty much in a full western.
One thing to me, I am thinking when you go to more of a closed fist rather that the spread index finger, it moves the heel of the hand more toward eastern. I think Tsitsipas and Rublev have the heel of their hand more on 3.5 or so for a 4/3.5 grip rather than a 4/4 pure semi western grip.
The Tsitsipas forehand, when he has time to load it, has superb forward momentum; you can get similar amount of "wrist lag" in other players but a lot of the whip-produced momentum is in the vertical component of the head velocity rather than in the horizontal plane. This makes directional control easier for people not named Rafael (the more you punch the ball forward, the more the outgoing trajectory aligns with the racquet trajectory). In a match played from one backhand corner to another, better directional control is what you need to unlock the critical inside-in forehand or down-the-line forehand. I don't want to overemphasize this point; after all, some of Ruud's misses on that shot were more about height and depth control and his DTL backhand performed worse than Tsitsipas'. But one could definitely feel that the Greek was aiming them tighter.
82% forehands is the key here. Tsitsipas' bh stood up to pressure (I still think he'd been better off with a two-hander) but not having to hit it very much is what won him this match.
Yep, amazing footwork, but also an amazing forehand that allows him to generate a lot of pace and spin with a compact swing. This makes him better on the run to his own forehand than Ruud as well.
Another key to Tsitsipas' success is how the fh opens up the physicality of the game for him. It can be hard to remember bc of the camera angles, but Tsitsipas is a BEAST. If he'd been born in America, he would be an NBA guard or NFL wide receiver. They would have put 15-20 lbs of muscle on him and given him a helmet. He's so physically impressive and when he can step into the court and come forward he can dominate. When he's able to move around and get the fh, he starts to run more and the space on the court becomes an asset. When he's boxed in hitting bh's, he gets very normal.
What's the problem with the Tsitsipas backhand technically? Or is it more footwork related? He always seems to be very face-on as he makes contact, a lot of arm and not a lot of body
I don't think there is something particularly wrong with it technically. I think the trouble he gets into is not having a reliable slice to fall back on, so he ends up taking on topspin one-handers against really difficult shots (incoming first serves and fast/wide balls during rallies). With that being said, I am more a fan of straightening the hitting arm earlier in the backswing (like Shapo and Thiem). Wrote about this stuff here:
https://hughclarke.substack.com/p/the-one-handed-backhand
Gotcha, yeah I remember the talk about his slice being pretty weak. It seemed like he was using it more in Paris late last year, but I guess that was just temporary
Philippoussis was pushing it.
Hugh - would you say that there is a similarity between the way you describe Tsitsipas’ forehand and Sinner’s backhand? Atleast before the follow through, both seem to have some “whipping” action right before contact that can be very effective.
Yeah I think so. There is a large flip from out-to-in as they start to unload their legs and torso, and this creates that whip effect which then slingshots the racquet from in-to-out. Really effective way to generate a lot of racquet speed and topspin.
I love the Tsitsipas forehand technique. It reminds me somewhat of a more compact updated Del Potro forehand. Rublev to me has very similar technique and both have a mild semi western grip, which helps them getting off the front foot and really taking the ball on early. Both Tsitsipas and Rublev drop the racquet more on edge and the strings of the racquet stay more facing the ball than a lot of players like Sinner and Ruud. Tsitsipas gets even more spin than Rublev, and may have the second best clay court forehand in tennis, behind Nadal. Certainly the shot quality numbers in Monte Carlo reflect how good the Tsitsipas forehand is.
The straight hitting arm and more conservative grip is kind of delpo-esque (Although delpo was more of a true eastern and Tsitsi is something more like a SW with his hand aligned for a little more of a 'composite' setup). Both Rublev and Tsitsi keep their index finger closer to the rest of their fingers and I wonder if this is a factor that makes them go more 'palm up' in the backswing to produce that on edge racquet you mentioned. There's an article on this I'm tinkering with.
That would to me would be very interesting. I too have noticed this more of a closed fist grip both Rublev and Tsitsipas use, which is certainly unusual with the mild semi western grip. Sock also did this, but he was pretty much in a full western.
One thing to me, I am thinking when you go to more of a closed fist rather that the spread index finger, it moves the heel of the hand more toward eastern. I think Tsitsipas and Rublev have the heel of their hand more on 3.5 or so for a 4/3.5 grip rather than a 4/4 pure semi western grip.
yep, that's what I mean of more of a composite grip, where the heel pad isn't aligned on bevel 5 as much, but closer to 4 or something.
The Tsitsipas forehand, when he has time to load it, has superb forward momentum; you can get similar amount of "wrist lag" in other players but a lot of the whip-produced momentum is in the vertical component of the head velocity rather than in the horizontal plane. This makes directional control easier for people not named Rafael (the more you punch the ball forward, the more the outgoing trajectory aligns with the racquet trajectory). In a match played from one backhand corner to another, better directional control is what you need to unlock the critical inside-in forehand or down-the-line forehand. I don't want to overemphasize this point; after all, some of Ruud's misses on that shot were more about height and depth control and his DTL backhand performed worse than Tsitsipas'. But one could definitely feel that the Greek was aiming them tighter.