Tennis Devotees

Roger Federer's Anecdote

"Today, everyone sees me as a quiet man, but my career began a little less quietly. There was a coach at my first tournament who told me: ‘At most, you can have coffee in a bar with those hands. You have no talent boy.’ That guy made me grow in anger and changed my personality a bit.

I got up at night to practice. I would put on the lights in the garden and hit against the wall hundreds of times. I hit forehands, backhands…every kind of shot until I could convince myself that each was perfect. I wanted to get there, but in front of me I saw too many obstacles and people who did not believe in me.

There was a time when I used to throw my racket a lot and when I was 16, I was even chased off court because of it. At 17, my family decided that I had to go to a psychologist, because I was so angry on the court. From that moment on, my growth has been constant.

Every time I am under pressure, I think of the hard work I have done to get where I am now. After becoming the number one in 2004, I actually considered quitting. I had accomplished everything I had set out to. But I told myself that I can continue playing because I don’t have to prove anything anymore.

Everything I accomplish going forward is just a bonus. People have told me I cry too much after important victories or defeats. There are people don’t even smile when they win, and there are people who don’t stop smiling for weeks after a victory.

I am the sort of person who lets the tears flow. I let them flow because I remember that coach who told me I would go nowhere in tennis. In those moments, I think of how many sacrifices I've made to get to where I am. But I must actually thank that person because, especially in the first years of my career, he gave me the urge to move on.

He gave me the inner strength to show the world who I could be. Do not ever fall down in sport or in life. Dark moments will come, it is up to you to rise above them.”

- Roger Federer

Why is there a pineapple on the Wimbledon trophy?

As the next Wimbledon champion holds up the trophy on Sunday, some eagle-eyed spectators might notice that there is a pineapple on the top.

After two enthralling weeks of world class tennis, the men’s singles champion will be presented with the coveted Challenge Cup on Sunday.

This year marks the 140th Wimbledon Championship and the 130th year since the famous trophy was first awarded to the winner.

Unfortunately for Wimbledon champions, the cup belongs to the All England Club and they get a smaller replica to take home instead of the actual trophy.

Many tennis fans have never noticed that on top of the magnificent cup stands a gold pineapple.

The reason why there is a pineapple on top of the trophy remains a mystery, but there are a number of theories.

A spokesperson for the Wimbledon Museum told Express.co.uk that there are “very few facts” about the pineapple’s origin, but they believe it dates back to the fruit’s use as a symbol of “honour, welcoming and celebration”.

The spokesperson said: “In the 17th century pineapples were impossible to grow in the UK and they had to be imported, so being presented with one at a feast was seen as a great compliment.

“You might have seen pineapples being used on gateposts of stately homes as you travel around the UK. It's because of their rarity.”

The trophy bears the inscription ‘All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World’. It stands at 18 inches (46cm) with a diameter of 7.5 inches (19cm).

Beneath each handle there is a head wearing a winged helmet and decorative borders boast exquisite floral patterns.
The name of the Wimbledon champion is engraved into the historic trophy every year.

In 2015, engraver Emmet Smith said it was a “massive privilege” to handle a cup with so much heritage.

He said: “It is incredible to think that those same handles have been held by legendary champions such as Spencer Gore, William Renshaw, Jean Borotra, Fred Perry, Rene Lacoste, Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.”

Mr Smith admits that the job gets more difficult with every passing year. “The names and dates of the champions are engraved around the bowl, but as it tapers down, there is less space and players' names seem to get longer,” he said

Source: express.co.uk

Why Federer and Sampras dominated at Wimbledon and remained favourite to win when stepped on grass?

Well, in tennis to win grand slam one needs much more than one single thing; skill, physique and stamina, mental ability to name a few. But what made Federer and Sampras do so well at Wimbledon. Basically answer lies in the surface, Grass!

Wimbledon is undoubtedly most important slam amongst all slams even for Nadal for sure despite his elusive success at Roland Garros.
Nadal is arguably the greatest competitor when it comes to mental abilities but even he couldn't do as well as Federer or Sampras on grass. So, what is that grass brings in to favour few players like Federer or Sampras? Basically it boils down onto two main aspects,
1. Great accuracy on serve
2. Short swing mechanics on either side

We all know grass surface is fast, but infact this year's Australian Open (Federer won here) surface was even faster than Wimbledon. When court is fast, points last for few shots compared to clay where points last longer as ball travels slow after bounce and player has time to chase it. With accurate wide angle or powerful shots especially on serve one gets free points (serving is not easy, it's basically earned).

On grass changing directions is not easy. Most physical casualties occur during 1st week and is a record at Wimbledon when grass is lush green. This surface suits players who have short swing on both forehand and backhand. On grass, slice backhand works well as stroke mechanics is relatively simple and short, and sliced ball doesn't sit up on grass as much as it would do on clay. Taking violent swing on grass puts player off balance and recovery time to play next shot is greatly reduced. Above factors favours Federer and Sampras due to their simple technique on both sides and pin point accuracy on serve.

Hope to see an astonishing fortnight of the year across the board once again, for which this entire world awaits. Wimbledon!

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Recall Rafa's below speech after loss at Australian Open 2017 final. This man knows himself so well. Let's stop judging this man; time and again he has proved and surpassed expectations.

"I cannot predict what's going on in the future, I just think that I am playing well. I believe that playing like this, good things can happen. (They) can happen here on this surface, but especially can happen on clay. On clay I (can) recover better than here, then the opponents don't get that many free points, and I am playing from the solid baseline. If I made that happen, I think I can keep having success in hard courts, but on clay can be special."

"Ultimate test for any tennis player is to beat Nadal at French Open". - Anonymous

10 titles at Roland Garros, overall 15 grand slams for arguably greatest of all time, Rafael Nadal.

Take a bow!🙌

Single Handed vs Double Handed backhand

It's a choice everyone has, whether to play single handed backhand (SHB) or double handed backhand (DHB), but which is relatively better? Below are few points that could be considered while choosing SHB or DHB.

Most of the kids who start playing early, by default plays with two hand on backhand side and at times even on forehand side as the kids can barely swing the racquet with one hand. Gradually these kids happen to develope two handed backhand these days.
Those who start Tennis late in their life or came watching and playing tennis from previous era often are influenced by likes of Federer, Pete, Wawrinka, Gasquet to name a few which makes SHB look elegant and effortless. But it comes at a cost which we overlook. One with SHB needs to be much more stronger with legs and hands compared to one with DHB and most of us give least importance to this strengthening part. SHB is less forgiving as there is very little portion of hand behind the racquet to keep it steady during an off centre shot.

DHB also activates a person's non-dominant side which in general helps maintain good body muscle balance.

The most critical piece to compare between SHB topspin and DHB topspin is how effective it is on the run or when you are stretched on the backhand side. DHB has an upper edge here too as you can hit it with open stance quite effectively.

Even Federer admits that his backhand is weak and is working on it for many years compared to Djokovic who admits that his backhand is his best reliable stroke.

Persons with SHB tend to have great slice shot but even two handers can have if practiced well which needs grip change on the move.

Preparation time on SHB is much more than DHB hence many times one with SHB is late on the shot when it comes to handling fast balls.

Experiment, try SHB and DHB, see what feels more stronger, make a change if required, it's never late and any change is uncomfortable but could be fruitful after rigorous practice.

Stay fit, and enjoy playing Tennis, but don't play tennis to stay fit.

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Grip Strength and it's importance in Tennis!

What do we exactly mean by grip strength in tennis? Does it mean how tightly you can grip the racquet while executing a stroke? No, infact it only means how effortlessly you can grip the racquet but yet being able to whip racquet as fast as you can sustaining ball impact without feeling tension in your hand and arm. So when we are supposed to hold it effortlessly and softly, then why are we talking about need for grip strength? So let's find out now.

(Note: Numbers below are only meant for explanation and are not as actuals)

To simplify this paradox, lets assume your maximum grip strength is 100lbs(don't worry about lbs unit).
1. Now visualise yourself holding racquet as you would usually do for a forehand
2. You may hold racquet with let say 30lbs of grip strength(which means are applying about 30% of your total grip strength)
3. Now swing racquet as fast as you can. Great, now let's say you managed to produce maximum racquet speed of 50kmph.
4. Now imagine yourself holding same racquet, but now racquet's handle is replaced with steel rod and oil is applied on racquet's handle(afraid to initiate a swing, right?). Under this condition, to maintain control on your forehand you would automatically tighten your grip so that racquet doesn't slip, and now let's say you have applied 70lbs(70% of your total grip strength). Now your muscles are extremely tight and under physical and mental stress.
5. Now try to swing as fast as possible without letting racquet slip from your hand. Oops, you just produced racquet speed of 10kmph.
6. Now we have a body builder, let's say with maximum of 200lbs grip strength, and now he holds the oily handle racquet with 80lbs (40% of its total strength, this means his muscles are not as tight as yours under same circumstances as you were holding with 70% of your total strength) so that it doesn't slip and he swings managing to produce maximum racquet speed of about let's say 25kmph. Wow, this guy managed to swing faster than you with the same oil applied racquet!

Conclusion:
1. Above visualisation demonstrates that having higher maximum grip strength will help you produce maximum racquet speed with minimal tension in your hand and arm. So, exercise specifically to increase your grip strength and reap out the benefits immediately.
2. Oily handle made you hold the racquet tighter resulting in decreased swing speed, similar is the case when your overgrip becomes slippery due to overuse and sweat disposition. Next time when you feel tension in your arm, try to assess your overgrip condition and replace if required.
3. Keep wiping your hand with towel between points so that sweat doesn't get on grip easily.
4. Wear nice absorbent wrist band which will soak sweat and will also act as wrist support.

Strengthen your body, and enjoy effortless Tennis. Vamos!

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You are only as good as your second serve!

This is so true, isn't it. Every time we are standing at baseline ready to serve second serve, we pray that serve lands inside service box HOPEFULLY. Obviously there is a mental side for this as ideally you should be aiming particular spot in the service box but this thought to live on hope is essentially due to poor technique which results in low confidence which in turn results in an error. Every point starts with a serve, and at Pro level if you are broken once, virtually your set is gone.

So what does it take to have a great second serve, and we all know that even at pro level 1st serve % is quite low compared to 2nd serve. Yes, we all know that we have to brush up to generate that extra topspin to help ball dip inside the service box with high net clearance.
Now to get this extra kick on second serve, one needs to have great leg drive in upward motion. If you have played enough tennis, you must have experienced that hitting hard is no big deal, but hitting hard and still be able to keep ball inside court is something that bothers, same is with serve. Hitting 1st serve hard and to have lighting ball is not a big deal, and this can be achieved without leg drive and even without proper continental grip because that's simply coming from the arm and body rotation but you will lack accuracy and consistency and topspin required to dip the ball inside service box.

So, now let's talk about the required leg drive to have a good topspin/kick/second serve. We all know that for a kick serve, we need to toss the ball slightly to the left for right handers which makes us visualise that one needs to arch his/her back? Is it the answer for kick serve? No. If you simply arch your back, you would end up losing balance after serve and moreover hurting your back.
Irrespective of your stance, platform or pin point, you need to primarily arch your legs which should be strong enough to lift your body in the upward direction and take body load on landing without losing balance to get that extra kick while maintaining sufficient pace on the ball. Strong quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexor and calves helps you achieve this.

Experiment and look for that eureka moment, get the feel, learn from your experience and practice unless it becomes a habit instead of relying only on instructions from others.

Enjoy, play hard but try to stay injury free with proper body conditioning.

Why Indians so far havent been successful in competing at grand slam level in singles category all these years?

Indians by origin have great pair of skillful hands. Right from Ramayana days, bow and arrow and later sword fighting, and now cricket and many such sports and activities where hand and eye coordination is involved, Indians have excelled which even helped India fetch it's only Gold medal in Singles category ever in 2008 Olympics in shooting. But why not in Singles when Tennis too needs great amount of hand eye coordination? Leander and Bhupati have done excellent in doubles, but why they didn't excell in Singles? Didnt they posses great skills? Well, in doubles one needs to be much better with hand eye coordination and both were excellent at it and hence could even win Wimbledon in doubles then why they couldn't make a name in Singles?

Well, if you are good with hand eye coordination and still unable to be on top, then it has to do with some​ other body parts which are basically legs and core. In Singles court coverage is much more than in doubles and points last longer. Look at football skills of Nadal, Federer and other European tennis player, they are all excellent at it. Virtually all would be able to play, kick and control ball with both legs quite extraordinarily. This is what sets them apart. Even Americans have struggled off lately to make a name in Singles tennis. In gym, typically in India people spend hours to build upper body to look attractive, but in reality all day legs do most of the work carrying your body which needs more attention. To maintain good body balance before, during and after a stroke one needs to have great legs which prepares one for the next shot and even to have great serve. As we all know and is said, in tennis power comes from legs. Last year at US open Saketh was limping and at end of 5th set, which shows why fitness is key. Eagerly awaiting to see Indians make a name at Grand Slam level so that we can have our own boys or girls to cheer for.

Truly, tennis is played with legs.

P.S.: Will appreciate if you could leave any comments below, like and share this post if you like. Thanks.