September 01, 2009

Cool post. Thanks, justgary.

posted by BoKnows at 04:20 PM on September 01, 2009

Pretty great!

Two notions come to mind:

1. Emphasis once again how different tennis reality is from the rather bland, textbook tennis coaching I was treated to in my youth. Open stances on the forehand side were actively discouraged. As a serve-and-volleyer, I spent as little time as possible behind the baseline, but what few forehand drills I tolerated early on were of the "step forward into your forehand" variety. That was fine when I was small and playing with a tiny wooden Wilson Jack Kramer, but later, playing at hs varsity pace, with various midsized graphite sticks, I wish I'd had some more imaginative coaching on that score.

2. I would LOVE to see a similar analysis of clay court footwork. The mechanics of the sliding groundstroke are an athletic marvel on par with anything else in sport for difficulty.

How great is it to watch game film with someone who can break it down like that, esp. with no regard for its conventional broadcast value?

David Foster Wallace, who had a lot more tennis experience than most tennis fans, once noted how many insights on the game he gleaned from watching a match with an experienced coach. A few years ago, Agassi was a commentator for about half a set for a US Open match between Federer and somebody I can't recall. His comments were few but very specific--he pointed out small but important aspects of the game that I'd never have noticed on my own.

posted by Uncle Toby at 11:44 PM on September 01, 2009