Tennis - The fabulous Richard Gasquet backhand!
Posted: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
by John Key
Backhandworld.com
Richard Gasquet's victory over Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon 1/4 final showed the world what an amazing player he is and also showed us the devastating Richard Gasquet backhand. Gasquet has always been an unbelievable talent waiting to ignite at any moment and unfortunately for Roddick, it was the Wimbledon 1/4 final 2007. At times Roddick was looking up at his coach Jimmy Connors in despair, as yet another backhand down-the-line ripped passed him with ferocious power. Gasquet was on fire and was almost hitting winners at will.
The shot that had the spectators literally gasping was his single-handed topspin backhand - so lets take a look.
The Shot
Richard Gasquet's topspin backhand is typical of the way the modern day single-handed shot is evolving. The very high preparation at full backswing, looping round and down before contact. This is more prevalent in todays game - though his shot is still extreme.
Many current players are utilizing the high take-back as they try to squeeze a little more power out of their shot. We are used to seeing it on high bouncing balls - but more and more we see it on general height backhands too. I was really interested to see at this year's French Open, how high some of the South Americans were preparing for the shot.
As youngsters our coaches told us not to prepare too high as this would cause problems - and the high take-back technique is not something I would readily recommend to club standard players, as perfecting this involves impeccable timing. The images of Gasquet above show how far his racket needs to drop from full preparation to the below the ball position. This timing is not for the faint hearted and if not executed perfectly, will lead to a late struck, handcuffed shot.
Gasquet further complements his backhand with excellent shouder turn, great knee bend, perfect use of his non-racket arm and a spot on striking position.
John Key
Backhandworld.com (see also 'Backhand racquet preparation - can your opponent see your racquet tip?')
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