First, an analysis of Roger Federer's footwork, complete with slow-motion video and animations.
As he elevates off the court to create the split step, watch how he opens his right foot slightly when he sees that the ball will go to his right. This makes for a quick move toward his forehand. When landing on the split step, he quickly pushes off with his left leg and makes a final stride with the right. Notice the exaggerated heel-to-toe foot placement. Federer does this to maintain good balance, as the heel-toe foot strike allows him to slow the acceleration of his body and position himself for the shot.Second, a piece on some of the top women's players, and their service troubles. An excerpt:
The serve and the free throw share key components: foot placement; body balance; weight shift; toss and follow through. Misses happen when players’ minds are willing but their mechanics are weak, or vice versa.Update 2009/09/04: The Wills, Arnett and Ferrell, joined the Andys, Roddick and Murray, on court for a celebrity doubles match, with SNL's Kenan Thompson as the "umpire", to do pretty much the opposite of what Roger Federer does:
Update 2009/09/07: I must've jinxed Federer — I caught a portion of his match against Hewitt on Saturday, only to see what commentator Mary Carillo called "the most awkward thing I've ever seen Federer do". It's not as awkward or embarrassing as what this ball boy did, though.
2 comments:
The breakdown of Fed's movement was awesome. I learned the small steps method when learning footwork, then eventually learning split steps. His one foot split step to the heel toe was something I don't do, because my timing isn't that great on fast paced shots. Seeing it in slow motion and the narration of the break down was really neat.
The analysis was insane. The comparison to the slalom ski dude was spot on!
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