Should You Use a One-Handed Backhand?
22-year old Italian Lorenzo Musetti had a dream semi-final run in this year’s Wimbledon. Musetti survived a five setter in the second round and knocked off 13-seed Taylor Fritz in five sets in the quarter-final before falling to 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets. The young Italian has modeled his game, like many tennis players of his generation, off of the great Roger Federer, copying the Swiss legend’s serve motion to a tee and adopting a one-handed backhand. Musetti is projected to jump from 25th to 16th in the ATP rankings after his Wimbledon run.
In this analysis, I will take a look at the number of one-handed backhands in the ATP top 20 for each of the last 20 years. Is one of tennis’ most beautiful shots actually leading to positive results on the court?
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali
Why Should You Advance Up the Court in Tennis?
Whether you’re a baseline specialist who can endure grueling rallies and outlast your opponent like Djokovic, Nadal, and Medvedev - or a player that prefers to approach the net to finish off points like McEnroe, Edberg, or Federer, your court positioning relative to the baseline and relative to the net is vital. Why is that? Let’s take a look.
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How Has Sinner’s Game Improved So Quickly?
22-year-old Jannik Sinner won his first Grand Slam title on Sunday, defeating Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling 5-setter, coming back from down two sets to love. Sinner handily beat 24-time Grand Slam champion and world number one Novak Djokovic in four sets in the semi-finals. Last year, Sinner only made it to the fourth round in the Australia Open. What has Sinner done to improve?
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The Tennis Trade-Off: Should I Go For the Ace or Get the First Serve In?
With the 2023 US Open in full swing, it’s an appropriate time for me to serve up a tennis analysis. Watching #3 ranked Medvedev versus unseeded O’Connell in the 2nd round, my fiancé Christina and I started discussing the importance of the first serve. Medvedev had a curious serving strategy, going for a lot of aces on both his first and second serve. He ended up with 12 aces, 10 double faults, a 54% first serve percentage (first serve in), 81% of first serve points won, and 54% of second serve points won.
The performance sparked my interest: What is the optimal strategy for a men’s tennis player – should he go for the ace or should he get the first serve in?
Photo Credit: USA TODAY