Agreed, he's backhand was crazy good for this tournament. Very few errors compared to previous times. The backhand was very aggressive and taken on the rise. Many winners down the line. Hope this is a new trend for him.
Finally! The perfect timing for this video. Thank you! I'm a ride or die Tsitsipas fan and I have been waiting for someone to refute all the overblown, exaggerated criticism of Stef's backhand for years -- mostly coming from people who've never even won an amateur tennis tournament in their lives. 🤣Obviously, Stef worked on his backhand quite a bit because all of the improvements showed in Monte Carlo - every player trying to pick on Stef's backhand was met with a down the line winner or cross court winner, deep slice, etc... - loved it!!!! So thanks to the haters, Stef's backhand is now becoming elite like his serve, forehand, net game, smash, movement, drop shots... Oh Stef is back!
I think criticism of Tsitsipas' bh is within the context of being an elite player. You're right, it's a weakness. It's the shot he has to defend against...and yet it can stand up enough for him to be top 10. But where the bh weakness really shows up is on return of serve and pressure points. For as good as Tsitsipas is, he's ranked 55th in return of serve on the tour and 26th in under pressure points. Opponents target the bh when serving and when points get tight. To his credit, he's 7th in serve stats on the tour and that makes up a lot of ground. For me, it's pretty telling that despite the fact he has a one-handed backhand, he doesn't have a very good slice.
I agree with you, Steph would do well to model Dimitrov, use the slice as a rally and position ball, then flatten out the bh for winners esp down the line, his basic bh crosscourt is quite shallow and exploitable as Kryios says
@@ronaldforti7258 In an ideal world...but Tsitsipas' one-handeris what it is. I think if he developed a two-hander as a junior, he would be scary good. I don't really see what advantage he gains from the one-hander...again, even Dan Evans has a better slice.
Right. Agreed on all points and surprised that none of these were mentioned. Stef’s got a terrible return of serve on the backhand side, and his slice is surprisingly mediocre for his ranking. For example, I would easily put Dan Evans’s slice above Stef’s, and tbh, maybe even in return of serve.
@@garrusv Thing that makes Tsitsipas great is, yes, the +1 combo, but also the physicality of his game. He's a beast on the court. Big, strong, fast...If he'd grown up in America, they would have turned him into a tight end for the NFL.
For me Stefanos and Alcaraz are the only active player at the moment who can produce awesome points on every match. Their aesthetics is out of this world. Although i prefer how one handed backhand looks, Alcaraz looks great as well.
Dimitrov’s backhand doesn’t shank nearly as much as Tsitsipas’s and he has 10000 times better slice than him. Stef has a great game overall, but Dimitrov is a better ambassador for the OHBH shot in particular. Stef has some breathing space on the slowest clay and clay in general but on grass and hard courts, his BH return in particular is very vulnerable.
Tsitsipas would have struggled against someone with a good drop shot on clay as he gets caught behind the baseline, he's probably lucky that Alcaraz wasn't playing, and also a slice of fortune with the line calls against Sinner. However his backhand is fine, especially on clay, he generates good top spin.
I've never said Stef had a "bad" backhand. Other top players use their backhands to hit more outright winners. Tsi uses his bh more as a rally shot and to set up forehand drives. It's super consistent because he keeps the strings open more than most guys with single hand bh. I'm not even going to say he can't hit winners cc, it could come down to a stylistic choice. Most of these guys can hit any shot you can imagine.
Even if it’s a stylistic choice to keep his bh as a “rally shot”, that should be considered bad strategy then. If he could hit any shot, then why not flatten it out for variety and/or winners? His backhand is so predictable: crosscourt, slow with height. That’ll get by on clay, but it’s a “bad” shot” on practically every other surface, where guys like Carlos and Jannik and Novak are going to step around for a forehand or strong two hand return.
Stef's been hitting backhand winners all through his career -- he beat Rafa at AO from 2-0 sets down with backhand winners. His final shot against Medvedev in the 2021 French Open QF was a backhand winner off of an underarm serve. He was hitting backhand winners the first time he played and beat Djokovic. This is the problem the video is addressing -- people who are criticizing his backhand don't do objective research, just spout opinions.
The stress goes to "Ste" and "Pas". His backhand has no penetration power, it's kinda loopy, and his down-the-line backhand shows up once or twice per match. He made a big mistake as a youngster when he decided to go one-hand.
His backhand is the reason he is not N1 with noumerous Grand slams alrdy....whether you like it or not. All the elite tennis players exploit his BH especially djokovic.
I watched the practice from TsiTsi in MC and I have to admit, that he always find a perfect point of contact by hitting his backhand. This point, ist the point, I always try to find in my game….but with 55 years, it’s a hard mission…😅
Wait; dont jump in the bandwagon of triumph without being objective. Stefanos one - handed backhand its not bad or weak, its just INCOMPLETE. He just needs to incorporate a slice backhand urgently. The one - handed backand is a beautiful shot, but its the most difficult shot in tennis. Specially in the era of slow courts and ultra modern string & raquet techology. WIth the one - handed, the forearm gets tired very easily, so its not possible to be consistent, precise and powerful as having a two - hander, where you have the help of the another hand & arm. The slice is a resource as much as a variant to make the opponent uncomfortable by lowering the ball as well as to gain oxygen within a rally and prepare you to hit when well positioned and ready to finish the point. Tsitsipas does not have it, he either hits the full one hander or drop shots. He needs these to be consistent enough all year and to beat players such as Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev (not forget) and Sinner again. He sure can, he has the talent, IQ and power to do so, but needs to add this important added value. With this he will avoid tiring his forearm and resulting in errors, short balls in the middle of the court that rivals take advantage of to kill him or in shanks as well. Congratulations to Stefanos for today's title, great victory.
Your name is Karen. 🤣🤣No wonder you're in favor of people losing their jobs over occasional mistakes. If this is a joke, it's brilliant. If you're serious - go f---- yourself.🤣
I made a mistake with Medvedev, I thought he was not going to be that good, but he's proving he's one of the toughest players to beat in tennis history.
my question, dear Nick, will be: Why Stephanos is so good at clay? its because he has more time to adjust his shots? Its about his Top spin high balls? tell us please.
Yes both, more time, his timing is better and the trajectory of the bounce makes it easier for him to take the ball early. It's just what he's grown up on and loves to play the most.
I don’t think many believe that he has huge technical flaws on the backhand but there is no doubt that he struggles to absorb pace on that side and struggles when he has no time too. This is why big servers on fast courts beat him consistently, even if they are not players of the same level. He also doesn’t have an elite level slice to deal with this issue. His forehand is amazing and so is his athleticism and transition game but there is no doubt that his backhand holds him back against the best especially on the fasters courts. Dont think its a coincidence that his 3 masters titles all came at the slowest court on tour.
One thing I notice Tsisitatpas is how, especially on hard court, he often seem off balance after hitting the backhand. Obviously, he's playing against top players who gave him very little time, but the awkwardness is obvious. I just don't see Thiem/Dimitrov have this kind of finish off their backhands. Perhaps more of a shot selection problem than technique problem?
Ahhhh, there you are. The nit picker who used his microscope to find that little hidden flaw that's gonna completely revolutionize Tsitsipas' backhand game. Did you watch the video or just skip to the comments b/c you've been holding in this insight for years?
I think that one of the reasons why Tsitsipas is thought to have a weak backhand is that he seems, for a top-level player, to frame a lot of balls off the backhand side (although he also frames pretty often off his forehand). Do you think this is true and, if so, any explanation for why? Regarding his match against Sinner, you have focused on the bad call. Even without that, however, Sinner was going to win that match until he got injured. He had won the second set and he was up a break in the third, motoring through his service games and with all the momentum. So, Tsitsipas definitely got lucky there.
His topspin backhand is fine, I think one of the nicer looking and well struck one-handers on the tour. I think (and this is not to say it is weak per se) his slice backhand is what could tighten up a bit. Past versions of him I would notice his slice would kind of float and not have that penetrating ball flight. That being said, the dude is a true all courter and should be a threat on every surface, glad he seems to be back in form. Makes men's tennis very interesting with Stef also in the mix.
This guy says players can't have any weaknesses at the top level. Ahum, they all have weaknesses. I mean look at Andy Roddick's backhand. Some players have less consistency or less power on one side or the other. Tsitsipas has a good backhand when he has time to set it up. It's not as good with little time to react. He seems a bit similar to Guga in that way.
Great rant... as always...Great win by Tsitsipas... if only Alcaraz would listen to you instead of practicing his fist pump. And to talk about a bad backhand... does anyone remember Francoise Durr?
really dont like the bent arm backhand. i love the shape of thiem and fed and even gasquet. dimitrov . musetti. shapo. nearly everyone elses one hander looks better. tsitsipas backhand looks like a bit of a swipe. sort of like if u stood still and backhanded someone in the face. lol. with a bent arm tho. hard to explain. id have to do an impersonating video lol
Exactly. He is catching the ball late and shoveling the ball back. It looks like a mistake but he does it so consistently that it must be intentional. He keeps his elbow bent and doesn't extend his arm when he makes contact. Although it works for him, it's not pretty and, most importantly, not mechanically correct.
@jonayosores9944 exactly. but he can do it. I remember once during a ski lesson the instructor was quite particular on developing good fundamentals. he then added , you can still ski well without it , and just at that same moment as if by fate, a very fast skier flew by, but was doing the thing the instructor said NOT TO ! and he said , see ? once you learn bad habits it might stay with you forever, but you can still 'do it'
also. I was watching one of those free practice lives on youtube. with his dad apostolos. (and his brother) and to my horror, the dad was making that bent arm shape tutoring Stefanos. I couldn't hear what was being said. but I realised that's where he got that awful shape from.
@@TheJadedFilmMaker Yes, it pains me to watch Tsitsipas hit his one handed backhand. Players struggling to learn the one handed backhand should avoid watching Tsitsipas. Instead I'd suggest them to watch Shapovalov, a player you mentioned, as he currently has one of the best one handed backhands. But if I had to pick just one to copy, that would be Stefan Edberg. He had effortless power and control. But don't copy his forehand... lol. As you implied, having a flawed one handed backhand isn't the end of the world. Tsitsipas can still have a great career. Just look at Laver, Lendl, Becker, Graf and Sampras. They all did fine with their less than ideal one handed backhands.
I think you are correct if you said that Tsisipas backhand is not weak, but this is only for the topspin backhand. His slice backhand is quite poor and just sit up with no penetration. It keeps putting him in a defensive position. It 's due mainly to the wrong grip he is using
Tsitsipas's backhand was extremely good in this tournament. Even Sinner, who arguably has the best backhand on tour right now, did not gain much upper hand against Tsitsipas in the backhand exchanges. In fact, Sinner got burned many times in backhand exchanges when Tsitsipas suddenly sent a backhand down the line. The same scene happened over and over again in the Ruud-Tsitsipas match. I don't understand why it seems that the Ruud's coach didn't tell Ruud to avoid backhand cross-court exchanges, since it is evident from the Sinner match that Tsitsipas can burn the opponent repeatedly with his down-the-line backhand. Ruud was also very inept at dealing with Tsitsipas' serve and volley. Overall a very disappointing performance from Ruud. Tsitsipas got some luck with the Sinner no call, but he did play extremely well. He did win Monte Carlo twice before so there may be something with this place that brings the best out of him. If history is any indication, he is unlikely to be able to maintain this level in other tournaments.
Tsitsipas has a very good 1hbh. It isn’t an overly long bh like Kuerten’s that was suited primarily to clay. It is just a 1hbh that has the vulnerabilities of any 1hbh. Even Wawrinka was more effective on clay than other surfaces.
The problem with Tsitsipas' backhand is not the topspin shot itself, but that he has a terrible slice, which makes the backhand wing weak overall. His slice has no bite or penetration; it tends to float, land short, and sit up. The one-hander is a loopier stroke than the two-hander, and requires more preparation, so it tends to be more important for one-handers to be able to defend with slice when they are attacked or stretched wide on that wing. Compared to someone like Thiem, Tsitsipas also struggles to hit his backhand out of an open stance or a slide, and compared to someone like Federer, he struggles to shorten the stroke in order to bunt or redirect it back into play (he's gotten better at this on returns but I've yet to see him incorporate it into his baseline game). So while he can rally with the BH when he has time to set up (i.e., on clay), when he is rushed, he has no option but to hit a weak slice or try to take a full cut while out of position. In other words, Stefanos does not have a good plan B when plan A-ripping a huge cut out of a close-stance-isn't available to him.
Did you even watch Stef's matches in Monte Carlo? His opponents all had one tactic against Stef - pick on his backhand... and Stef still won the title. Did you even watch this video? Because this is the tired old claims people have been making for years - did you hear it on Tennis Channel and implant it into your brain as your own thoughts?
@@orchidpanda2253I have watched dozens of full Tsitsipas matches, including several from Monte Carlo. And nothing I said contradicts what Nik said. Tsitsipas does not have glaring technical flaws on his topspin BH. But he does have glaring flaws on his slice, which Nik did not address, but which make it difficult for him to defend on that wing. His poor slice also cripples his return % on hardcourts, since he cannot chip effectively like Fed, Wawrinka, and Grigor. This does not hurt him as much on clay, because he has more time to set up his BH or run around it. Stef is good enough in other areas of his game that he can still be competitive on hardcourts, even with these limitations. But he would do well to learn from Thiem, who did not take a major step forward as a hardcourt player until he developed an excellent slice and an ability to shorten his strokes, which Stef can do on his FH but not his BH
His backhand can be decent when he has time, but to say it’s not the weakest part of his games is really to ignore every possible sign and stat. He has really hard time defending and returning from this wing and not a great attacking shot. It’s much better on clay
As much as there is a bunch of drama surrounding him with his sportsmanship which has led me to not like him as a person too, he is an amazing player with a really good game and I can respect that
So I guess you're okay with being judged for the rest of your life for mistakes you may have made when you were 19 and in your early 20s? Or are you speaking as the model of perfect sportsmanship when you play tennis -- do you play tennis? You must dislike Rune, Kyrgios, Meddy - cause he stlll hasn't outgrown it, Zverev for sure and Djokovic, Ostapenko, Danielle Collins, etc... too. I could go on but who's got the time to make that list.
@@orchidpanda2253 lol why u so pressed? I just said I don’t like a player. I don’t feel like arguing over the internet so I’ll leave this here before I go. I’m entitled to my own opinion, I play tennis myself and I know how tough tennis is mentally. I’m allowed to not like people. I respect their game heavily and all they’ve done, I would keep arguing but who has the time to do that lol
I see for a Long time that Tsitsipas has Technical Problems on Serve. Now maybe he can stabilize his Backhand. But the Surface in Monte Carlo is slower and the ball bounces higher. I play one hander Backhand i know how difficult it is. Also my biggest Problem is The Service and will be the next years. As a Recreational Player..
His backhand isn't bad but he does mistime it a lot. Especially when he's rushed. You can hear the difference on the strings when he mistimes it. His drop shots are still a little heavy handed. He needs to soften his hands a little when playing them.
Well maybe it's not a bad backhand, but i do think he lacks a proper slice. It floats too much and does not bounce low enough after making contact with the tennis court.
It’s not impossible to make finals at the highest level with a weak backhand. This is the reason Tsitsipas has never won a major-because most players, Djoković especially, know you can attack Stef’s BH. His BH on the return of serve is weak & inconsistent; he always hitsloopy cross-court BHs & the reason he’s so good on clay is because it bounces up higher, like a very poor man’s Nadal FH; he seems incapable of hitting it hard cross-court (he has a good flat down-the-line BH though strangely; Stef also has a horrible slice BH that floats, one of the worst including 2-handers. The reason he can still make finals is because he has arguably the best overall forehand in the world. Berrettini is another example. It is incredibly rare, but it happens. Tsitsipas & Berrettini have 2 of the worst BHs in the top 100. Though Matteo’s topspin BH has looked good since he’s come back! Stef can do this too-I’ve seen it in practice videos on TH-cam-but he needs a new coach
Tsitsipas' one handed backhand is one of the worst among the top players. It's definitely not one to mimic. Catching the ball late and shoveling the ball back with the elbow bent isn't the right way to do it. Among the current top players Shapovalov has the best one handed backhand. Dimitrov's, Thiem's and Wawrinka's aren't bad either. But in tennis history I still consider Stefan Edberg's the best. Justine Henin's isn't bad either.
The theory goes that single handed backhanders are supposed to be able to slice well. Tsitsipas is anomalous. Anyone see the banana slice Kokkinakis hit this week?
Last year stefanos wasn't good on Clay ether. Maybe we have to take into account that he is using the lightest racket of all ohb players compared to Federer Wawrinka Gasquet etc And last if we assume that he was using the V8 Blade Pro it was the lowest of Swingewight bs V7 were he was playing at his best he won Federer and the current v9 which is more stable again
He uses a customised BLX Blade 98 18x20, it’s not much lighter than the other single handlers on tour. He’s only ever used the BLX Blade, he’s never used a Blade pro aka H22.
LOL. What's your definition of "good?" In 2023, Stef reached the QFs of French Open, Madrid, Monte Carlo, SF of Rome and Final of Barcelona - he still did better than 85% of the ATP tour. It was a disappointing year for Stefanos b/c his talent is far better than those results indicate, but you're gonna say he wasn't good on clay? 🤣
Stef does too much of spin and lacks in penetration with his backhand. Maybe he can't do anything different with more efficiency in his game...he gain time to recover to play better on his forehand.... It's not a case that Stef and Ruud reached the final in Mtc, slow surface, more time and also other players that suffers from quicktime as Musetti had played better than usual.
True - they all go in with the same tactic to pick on Stef's backhand b/c his forehand, net game, movement, smash are unassailable. But the video's point is that you don't make it to 2 slam finals on 2 different surfaces and win the ATP finals and 3 Masters and make deep runs on all surfaces in big tournaments (except grass - not yet) if his backhand was atrocious. It's not atrocious, it has some flaws and in Monte Carlo, we saw he made improvements.
@@orchidpanda2253 Nobody that is a top 50 player has an atrocious strike. Stefanos akilles point is his backhand and if he dont improvet he will not win a grand slam.
tennis has a lot of disconnect, most top ATP pros don't have any weakness in their strokes. The weakness is just people thinking and they need something to blame on and backhand is usually the first to go, esp a lot of 2 handers want to show their superiority so they bash on one handers
So you want robots to umpire? Cause human beings make mistakes - players, umpires, linespeople. I'd complain about the Supervisors - they're so useless. They're literally there to back up the umpires no matter what so why pay umpire salaries and supervisor salaries? It's too bad linespeople are all losing their jobs next year b/c tennis fans and some players can't handle a mistake once in awhile.
@@jimgerolimatos8962 just because it happens 2 or 3 times doesn’t mean that EVERY drop shot bounces too high. You probably need to watch some more matches (even the ones from some years ago) He's a very talented player and y'all always act like everything he does its horrible 🤦♀️
physical limitation bro, if you grip your racquet using the non dominant hand above your dominant hand, the two handed forehand style, you can't make the same swing as a two handed backhand, doesn't have the same reach
I strongly believe that Nadal is by far the mentally strongest player in the history of tennis. A mentally weaker Djokovic would be at worst a top 20 player. A mentally weaker Nadal could be number 125 in the world. I don't remember Nadal losing a match as a consequence of nerves or disappointment, I cannot say the same about Djokovic. I wonder how you as a Nadal fan have this impression.
There are three weaknesses to Stef’s backhand game: 1. He doesn’t flatten out crosscourt, preferring instead a loopy backhand. This gives his opponents tons of time to recover. 2. He has only recently developed a backhand down the line. Before, it was almost always crosscourt, again, allowing his opponents to capitalize. 3. He has a very mediocre slice that usually floats and then sits up, allowing opponents to attack. *4* Bonus: his return of serve is pretty bad. Anytime an opponent needs a freebie point, they serve to his backhand. His backhand looks good on clay because he has so much more time, also to run around to his forehand if he wants to. Sure, there may not be anything technically wrong with his form, but due to the reasons above, his backhand is for sure a liability - especially against the top 10.
Go ahead and keep singing that tired old song you heard from a tired old commenter on Tennis Channel and now you believe it's actually your own thoughts.
You never know if Sinner would have won that match... Tsitsipas had 2 breaks afterwards and i'm sure he could pull a third one as well since Sinner was fully cramped. I'm sure that Sinner didn't have any power left to even stop the match at this point... it was already game over for him since his body was leaving him.
I was attending MC masters since Friday and I was able to watch 2 games of Stefanos. He is not a quality player. He doesn't have any backhand. He is making so many UE during match. He shouldn't be in the finals because Sinner was robbed by the umpire in semis.
I get you're upset b/c it was a really bad line call. But, it could be said that Rune was robbed in the QFs by bad line call + bogus code violation when the umpire failed to do his job and tell the crowd to be quiet when Rune was serving and instead only turned the crowd even more against Rune. But I won't say that. I'll just give Sinner credit for winning the match. Sinner was still up a break in the decider and could've won from that position, like he's done many other times being up just one break. He didn't. Sinner's best surface isn't clay -- but he showed some excellent tennis and improvements so I'm sure he'll do well in Madrid and Rome and maybe even French Open. It's not that serious.
Salty loser'd comment,Tsitsipas outplayed Sinner in the 1 set and had plenty of breakpoints in the 2 ,plus there was a bad call against Stefanos in the 1 game of the 3 set when he list his serve,the point should have been replayed at 15:15,okey? Mistakes happen and will happen. A "not elite" player wouldn't have won ATP finals,3 Monte-Carlo titles,playing in RG and AO finals. Sinner is a great guy and player,but his annoying fans are shame for the sport of tennis.
Get the Intuitive Tennis App to get your game to the next level apple.co/3c5IyJp
I love how Nadal is so good on Clay that a close loss against him is impressive 😂
Happy for Stef. He had a tough last year but glad he's back in the winner's circle.
🙌
Agreed, he's backhand was crazy good for this tournament. Very few errors compared to previous times. The backhand was very aggressive and taken on the rise. Many winners down the line. Hope this is a new trend for him.
Finally! The perfect timing for this video. Thank you! I'm a ride or die Tsitsipas fan and I have been waiting for someone to refute all the overblown, exaggerated criticism of Stef's backhand for years -- mostly coming from people who've never even won an amateur tennis tournament in their lives. 🤣Obviously, Stef worked on his backhand quite a bit because all of the improvements showed in Monte Carlo - every player trying to pick on Stef's backhand was met with a down the line winner or cross court winner, deep slice, etc... - loved it!!!! So thanks to the haters, Stef's backhand is now becoming elite like his serve, forehand, net game, smash, movement, drop shots... Oh Stef is back!
Lol deep slice
NB: I love Tsitsipas' game too...he's a brilliant all-court player, even on clay.
I think criticism of Tsitsipas' bh is within the context of being an elite player. You're right, it's a weakness. It's the shot he has to defend against...and yet it can stand up enough for him to be top 10. But where the bh weakness really shows up is on return of serve and pressure points. For as good as Tsitsipas is, he's ranked 55th in return of serve on the tour and 26th in under pressure points. Opponents target the bh when serving and when points get tight. To his credit, he's 7th in serve stats on the tour and that makes up a lot of ground.
For me, it's pretty telling that despite the fact he has a one-handed backhand, he doesn't have a very good slice.
I agree with you, Steph would do well to model Dimitrov, use the slice as a rally and position ball, then flatten out the bh for winners esp down the line, his basic bh crosscourt is quite shallow and exploitable as Kryios says
@@ronaldforti7258 In an ideal world...but Tsitsipas' one-handeris what it is. I think if he developed a two-hander as a junior, he would be scary good. I don't really see what advantage he gains from the one-hander...again, even Dan Evans has a better slice.
Right. Agreed on all points and surprised that none of these were mentioned. Stef’s got a terrible return of serve on the backhand side, and his slice is surprisingly mediocre for his ranking. For example, I would easily put Dan Evans’s slice above Stef’s, and tbh, maybe even in return of serve.
@@garrusv Thing that makes Tsitsipas great is, yes, the +1 combo, but also the physicality of his game. He's a beast on the court. Big, strong, fast...If he'd grown up in America, they would have turned him into a tight end for the NFL.
@@petershort936wym “even dan evans has better slice”…dan has one of the best bh slices on tour
Steph Tsitsipas backhand looks great, I think his mistakes are mental.
For me Stefanos and Alcaraz are the only active player at the moment who can produce awesome points on every match. Their aesthetics is out of this world. Although i prefer how one handed backhand looks, Alcaraz looks great as well.
Thank you, Nikola for a very informative podcast. Spot on!
Props to Stef. Casper needs to acquire viciousness, absolute wickedness he must acquire to win these finals
THe game needs a top 10 one handed backhand. Stefan Tsitsipas provides that.
Great comment 💯
Dimitrov was (back) there first!
Dimitrov’s backhand doesn’t shank nearly as much as Tsitsipas’s and he has 10000 times better slice than him. Stef has a great game overall, but Dimitrov is a better ambassador for the OHBH shot in particular. Stef has some breathing space on the slowest clay and clay in general but on grass and hard courts, his BH return in particular is very vulnerable.
I have never had doubts about Stef's game but he kinda lost his focus in the last year-year and a half.
Good to have him back in the mix.
I think his injuries also had an effect on his results last season too.
Tsitsipas would have struggled against someone with a good drop shot on clay as he gets caught behind the baseline, he's probably lucky that Alcaraz wasn't playing, and also a slice of fortune with the line calls against Sinner. However his backhand is fine, especially on clay, he generates good top spin.
I've never said Stef had a "bad" backhand. Other top players use their backhands to hit more outright winners. Tsi uses his bh more as a rally shot and to set up forehand drives. It's super consistent because he keeps the strings open more than most guys with single hand bh. I'm not even going to say he can't hit winners cc, it could come down to a stylistic choice. Most of these guys can hit any shot you can imagine.
Even if it’s a stylistic choice to keep his bh as a “rally shot”, that should be considered bad strategy then. If he could hit any shot, then why not flatten it out for variety and/or winners? His backhand is so predictable: crosscourt, slow with height. That’ll get by on clay, but it’s a “bad” shot” on practically every other surface, where guys like Carlos and Jannik and Novak are going to step around for a forehand or strong two hand return.
and mishit.
Even Wawrinka said he would prefer to have a 2-hander on return of serve.
Stef's been hitting backhand winners all through his career -- he beat Rafa at AO from 2-0 sets down with backhand winners. His final shot against Medvedev in the 2021 French Open QF was a backhand winner off of an underarm serve. He was hitting backhand winners the first time he played and beat Djokovic. This is the problem the video is addressing -- people who are criticizing his backhand don't do objective research, just spout opinions.
I watched his matches. Im glad he fixed it.
The stress goes to "Ste" and "Pas". His backhand has no penetration power, it's kinda loopy, and his down-the-line backhand shows up once or twice per match. He made a big mistake as a youngster when he decided to go one-hand.
Thiem was a animal in clay. But seems imposible he returns to his level !
My respect to Tsisipas and Casper also
Does it hold up on faster surfaces though and the slice?
His backhand is the reason he is not N1 with noumerous Grand slams alrdy....whether you like it or not. All the elite tennis players exploit his BH especially djokovic.
Monday Morning Rant on a Sunday Afternoon ;)
Haha yes 🙌🙌
The Rent posted early
I watched the practice from TsiTsi in MC and I have to admit, that he always find a perfect point of contact by hitting his backhand. This point, ist the point, I always try to find in my game….but with 55 years, it’s a hard mission…😅
Wait; dont jump in the bandwagon of triumph without being objective. Stefanos one - handed backhand its not bad or weak, its just INCOMPLETE. He just needs to incorporate a slice backhand urgently. The one - handed backand is a beautiful shot, but its the most difficult shot in tennis. Specially in the era of slow courts and ultra modern string & raquet techology.
WIth the one - handed, the forearm gets tired very easily, so its not possible to be consistent, precise and powerful as having a two - hander, where you have the help of the another hand & arm. The slice is a resource as much as a variant to make the opponent uncomfortable by lowering the ball as well as to gain oxygen within a rally and prepare you to hit when well positioned and ready to finish the point. Tsitsipas does not have it, he either hits the full one hander or drop shots.
He needs these to be consistent enough all year and to beat players such as Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev (not forget) and Sinner again. He sure can, he has the talent, IQ and power to do so, but needs to add this important added value. With this he will avoid tiring his forearm and resulting in errors, short balls in the middle of the court that rivals take advantage of to kill him or in shanks as well.
Congratulations to Stefanos for today's title, great victory.
Great take, i agree that Stefanos should add a good slice to his otherwise very complete game.
At least next Monte Carlo we'll have electronic line calling. No more line judges
👍
Your name is Karen. 🤣🤣No wonder you're in favor of people losing their jobs over occasional mistakes. If this is a joke, it's brilliant. If you're serious - go f---- yourself.🤣
I made a mistake with Medvedev, I thought he was not going to be that good, but he's proving he's one of the toughest players to beat in tennis history.
Not that tough when he's being demolished by Sinner 5 times in a row.
Also has bad records against Carlos and Djokovic.
@@alburaq3290 Agree.
my question, dear Nick, will be: Why Stephanos is so good at clay? its because he has more time to adjust his shots? Its about his Top spin high balls? tell us please.
Yes both, more time, his timing is better and the trajectory of the bounce makes it easier for him to take the ball early. It's just what he's grown up on and loves to play the most.
I don’t think many believe that he has huge technical flaws on the backhand but there is no doubt that he struggles to absorb pace on that side and struggles when he has no time too. This is why big servers on fast courts beat him consistently, even if they are not players of the same level. He also doesn’t have an elite level slice to deal with this issue. His forehand is amazing and so is his athleticism and transition game but there is no doubt that his backhand holds him back against the best especially on the fasters courts. Dont think its a coincidence that his 3 masters titles all came at the slowest court on tour.
One thing I notice Tsisitatpas is how, especially on hard court, he often seem off balance after hitting the backhand. Obviously, he's playing against top players who gave him very little time, but the awkwardness is obvious. I just don't see Thiem/Dimitrov have this kind of finish off their backhands. Perhaps more of a shot selection problem than technique problem?
Ahhhh, there you are. The nit picker who used his microscope to find that little hidden flaw that's gonna completely revolutionize Tsitsipas' backhand game. Did you watch the video or just skip to the comments b/c you've been holding in this insight for years?
I think that one of the reasons why Tsitsipas is thought to have a weak backhand is that he seems, for a top-level player, to frame a lot of balls off the backhand side (although he also frames pretty often off his forehand). Do you think this is true and, if so, any explanation for why?
Regarding his match against Sinner, you have focused on the bad call. Even without that, however, Sinner was going to win that match until he got injured. He had won the second set and he was up a break in the third, motoring through his service games and with all the momentum. So, Tsitsipas definitely got lucky there.
His topspin backhand is fine, I think one of the nicer looking and well struck one-handers on the tour. I think (and this is not to say it is weak per se) his slice backhand is what could tighten up a bit. Past versions of him I would notice his slice would kind of float and not have that penetrating ball flight. That being said, the dude is a true all courter and should be a threat on every surface, glad he seems to be back in form. Makes men's tennis very interesting with Stef also in the mix.
This guy says players can't have any weaknesses at the top level. Ahum, they all have weaknesses. I mean look at Andy Roddick's backhand. Some players have less consistency or less power on one side or the other. Tsitsipas has a good backhand when he has time to set it up. It's not as good with little time to react. He seems a bit similar to Guga in that way.
fair
why clay in US is gray green?
For the style i think, Not sure, and i already seen on blue sky
It’s called Har-Tru, but not all clay in the US is green
@@bengray5013 Thanks.
Great rant... as always...Great win by Tsitsipas... if only Alcaraz would listen to you instead of practicing his fist pump. And to talk about a bad backhand... does anyone remember Francoise Durr?
Berrettini reached the Wimbledon final and he definitely has a very weak backhand. Not even a good slice backhand.
He has a very good slice backhand that is part of what brought him to the Wimby final.
agree
really dont like the bent arm backhand. i love the shape of thiem and fed and even gasquet. dimitrov . musetti. shapo. nearly everyone elses one hander looks better.
tsitsipas backhand looks like a bit of a swipe. sort of like if u stood still and backhanded someone in the face. lol. with a bent arm tho. hard to explain. id have to do an impersonating video lol
Exactly. He is catching the ball late and shoveling the ball back. It looks like a mistake but he does it so consistently that it must be intentional. He keeps his elbow bent and doesn't extend his arm when he makes contact. Although it works for him, it's not pretty and, most importantly, not mechanically correct.
@jonayosores9944 exactly. but he can do it. I remember once during a ski lesson the instructor was quite particular on developing good fundamentals. he then added , you can still ski well without it , and just at that same moment as if by fate, a very fast skier flew by, but was doing the thing the instructor said NOT TO ! and he said , see ? once you learn bad habits it might stay with you forever, but you can still 'do it'
also. I was watching one of those free practice lives on youtube. with his dad apostolos. (and his brother) and to my horror, the dad was making that bent arm shape tutoring Stefanos. I couldn't hear what was being said. but I realised that's where he got that awful shape from.
@@TheJadedFilmMaker Yes, it pains me to watch Tsitsipas hit his one handed backhand. Players struggling to learn the one handed backhand should avoid watching Tsitsipas. Instead I'd suggest them to watch Shapovalov, a player you mentioned, as he currently has one of the best one handed backhands. But if I had to pick just one to copy, that would be Stefan Edberg. He had effortless power and control. But don't copy his forehand... lol. As you implied, having a flawed one handed backhand isn't the end of the world. Tsitsipas can still have a great career. Just look at Laver, Lendl, Becker, Graf and Sampras. They all did fine with their less than ideal one handed backhands.
It's not a weapon, but Stefanos's backhand isn't that bad.
I think you are correct if you said that Tsisipas backhand is not weak, but this is only for the topspin backhand. His slice backhand is quite poor and just sit up with no penetration. It keeps putting him in a defensive position. It 's due mainly to the wrong grip he is using
why are your chapters so off?
Tsitsipas's backhand was extremely good in this tournament. Even Sinner, who arguably has the best backhand on tour right now, did not gain much upper hand against Tsitsipas in the backhand exchanges. In fact, Sinner got burned many times in backhand exchanges when Tsitsipas suddenly sent a backhand down the line. The same scene happened over and over again in the Ruud-Tsitsipas match. I don't understand why it seems that the Ruud's coach didn't tell Ruud to avoid backhand cross-court exchanges, since it is evident from the Sinner match that Tsitsipas can burn the opponent repeatedly with his down-the-line backhand. Ruud was also very inept at dealing with Tsitsipas' serve and volley. Overall a very disappointing performance from Ruud. Tsitsipas got some luck with the Sinner no call, but he did play extremely well. He did win Monte Carlo twice before so there may be something with this place that brings the best out of him. If history is any indication, he is unlikely to be able to maintain this level in other tournaments.
Tsitsipas has a very good 1hbh. It isn’t an overly long bh like Kuerten’s that was suited primarily to clay. It is just a 1hbh that has the vulnerabilities of any 1hbh. Even Wawrinka was more effective on clay than other surfaces.
I didn't realize Delbonis retired. His serve motion was...unique.
Check out the current college player at Oregon with the weirdest serve
@@josep9599 yeah saw that, insane 😂
Off topic, but is that a Murray State Racers shirt? Nice
Yes
Nick, agree with what you are saying but I have to admit I have NEVER seen Jokovic double fault to lose a match!
The problem with Tsitsipas' backhand is not the topspin shot itself, but that he has a terrible slice, which makes the backhand wing weak overall. His slice has no bite or penetration; it tends to float, land short, and sit up. The one-hander is a loopier stroke than the two-hander, and requires more preparation, so it tends to be more important for one-handers to be able to defend with slice when they are attacked or stretched wide on that wing. Compared to someone like Thiem, Tsitsipas also struggles to hit his backhand out of an open stance or a slide, and compared to someone like Federer, he struggles to shorten the stroke in order to bunt or redirect it back into play (he's gotten better at this on returns but I've yet to see him incorporate it into his baseline game). So while he can rally with the BH when he has time to set up (i.e., on clay), when he is rushed, he has no option but to hit a weak slice or try to take a full cut while out of position.
In other words, Stefanos does not have a good plan B when plan A-ripping a huge cut out of a close-stance-isn't available to him.
Did you even watch Stef's matches in Monte Carlo? His opponents all had one tactic against Stef - pick on his backhand... and Stef still won the title. Did you even watch this video? Because this is the tired old claims people have been making for years - did you hear it on Tennis Channel and implant it into your brain as your own thoughts?
@@orchidpanda2253I have watched dozens of full Tsitsipas matches, including several from Monte Carlo. And nothing I said contradicts what Nik said. Tsitsipas does not have glaring technical flaws on his topspin BH. But he does have glaring flaws on his slice, which Nik did not address, but which make it difficult for him to defend on that wing. His poor slice also cripples his return % on hardcourts, since he cannot chip effectively like Fed, Wawrinka, and Grigor. This does not hurt him as much on clay, because he has more time to set up his BH or run around it.
Stef is good enough in other areas of his game that he can still be competitive on hardcourts, even with these limitations. But he would do well to learn from Thiem, who did not take a major step forward as a hardcourt player until he developed an excellent slice and an ability to shorten his strokes, which Stef can do on his FH but not his BH
His backhand can be decent when he has time, but to say it’s not the weakest part of his games is really to ignore every possible sign and stat. He has really hard time defending and returning from this wing and not a great attacking shot. It’s much better on clay
As much as there is a bunch of drama surrounding him with his sportsmanship which has led me to not like him as a person too, he is an amazing player with a really good game and I can respect that
Sportsmanship? Do you mean gamesmanship?
So I guess you're okay with being judged for the rest of your life for mistakes you may have made when you were 19 and in your early 20s? Or are you speaking as the model of perfect sportsmanship when you play tennis -- do you play tennis? You must dislike Rune, Kyrgios, Meddy - cause he stlll hasn't outgrown it, Zverev for sure and Djokovic, Ostapenko, Danielle Collins, etc... too. I could go on but who's got the time to make that list.
@@orchidpanda2253 lol why u so pressed? I just said I don’t like a player. I don’t feel like arguing over the internet so I’ll leave this here before I go. I’m entitled to my own opinion, I play tennis myself and I know how tough tennis is mentally. I’m allowed to not like people. I respect their game heavily and all they’ve done, I would keep arguing but who has the time to do that lol
Tsiptipas very lucky in Monte Carlo Should have been 5-1 down! think you said it was at 3-1 it was at 4-1!
Which players spend the most time and are the furthest over on their backhand side so they can hit a forehand instead? I would put Tsitsipas up there.
I see for a Long time that Tsitsipas has Technical Problems on Serve. Now maybe he can stabilize his Backhand. But the Surface in Monte Carlo is slower and the ball bounces higher. I play one hander Backhand i know how difficult it is. Also my biggest Problem is The Service and will be the next years. As a Recreational Player..
His backhand isn't bad but he does mistime it a lot. Especially when he's rushed. You can hear the difference on the strings when he mistimes it. His drop shots are still a little heavy handed. He needs to soften his hands a little when playing them.
Tmo Tsisipas has the height advantage for a one hander, if he doesn't have any problems with clay court he shouldn't have any elsewhere.
This will be short lived. The clay gives him time on his backhand, once the grass season starts it will be shank city again.
Djokovic had the momentum in the Rudd match until he cursed out that spectator who called out..😅
Well maybe it's not a bad backhand, but i do think he lacks a proper slice. It floats too much and does not bounce low enough after making contact with the tennis court.
It’s not impossible to make finals at the highest level with a weak backhand. This is the reason Tsitsipas has never won a major-because most players, Djoković especially, know you can attack Stef’s BH. His BH on the return of serve is weak & inconsistent; he always hitsloopy cross-court BHs & the reason he’s so good on clay is because it bounces up higher, like a very poor man’s Nadal FH; he seems incapable of hitting it hard cross-court (he has a good flat down-the-line BH though strangely; Stef also has a horrible slice BH that floats, one of the worst including 2-handers. The reason he can still make finals is because he has arguably the best overall forehand in the world. Berrettini is another example. It is incredibly rare, but it happens. Tsitsipas & Berrettini have 2 of the worst BHs in the top 100. Though Matteo’s topspin BH has looked good since he’s come back! Stef can do this too-I’ve seen it in practice videos on TH-cam-but he needs a new coach
Why does he protect his backhand more than any other player? His backhand was good in monte Carlo but has leaked tonnes of errors elsewhere
Much easier to comment after he wins.
Tsitsipas' one handed backhand is one of the worst among the top players. It's definitely not one to mimic. Catching the ball late and shoveling the ball back with the elbow bent isn't the right way to do it. Among the current top players Shapovalov has the best one handed backhand. Dimitrov's, Thiem's and Wawrinka's aren't bad either. But in tennis history I still consider Stefan Edberg's the best. Justine Henin's isn't bad either.
Tsitsipas backhand stats are like -6. Gasquet +1 huge difference
Where are you getting these stats? You could be just making this up.
SATR = Gold
The theory goes that single handed backhanders are supposed to be able to slice well. Tsitsipas is anomalous. Anyone see the banana slice Kokkinakis hit this week?
Last year stefanos wasn't good on Clay ether. Maybe we have to take into account that he is using the lightest racket of all ohb players compared to Federer Wawrinka Gasquet etc
And last if we assume that he was using the V8 Blade Pro it was the lowest of Swingewight bs V7 were he was playing at his best he won Federer and the current v9 which is more stable again
He uses a customised BLX Blade 98 18x20, it’s not much lighter than the other single handlers on tour. He’s only ever used the BLX Blade, he’s never used a Blade pro aka H22.
LOL. What's your definition of "good?" In 2023, Stef reached the QFs of French Open, Madrid, Monte Carlo, SF of Rome and Final of Barcelona - he still did better than 85% of the ATP tour. It was a disappointing year for Stefanos b/c his talent is far better than those results indicate, but you're gonna say he wasn't good on clay? 🤣
Stef does too much of spin and lacks in penetration with his backhand. Maybe he can't do anything different with more efficiency in his game...he gain time to recover to play better on his forehand.... It's not a case that Stef and Ruud reached the final in Mtc, slow surface, more time and also other players that suffers from quicktime as Musetti had played better than usual.
Djokovic is done winning any significant titles. He's king of weak era. As Sinner and Alcaraz have matured fully, he's done
Only because Monte Carlo court is very slow
Its obvious that his opponents thinks that his backhand is his weak point.
True - they all go in with the same tactic to pick on Stef's backhand b/c his forehand, net game, movement, smash are unassailable. But the video's point is that you don't make it to 2 slam finals on 2 different surfaces and win the ATP finals and 3 Masters and make deep runs on all surfaces in big tournaments (except grass - not yet) if his backhand was atrocious. It's not atrocious, it has some flaws and in Monte Carlo, we saw he made improvements.
@@orchidpanda2253 Nobody that is a top 50 player has an atrocious strike. Stefanos akilles point is his backhand and if he dont improvet he will not win a grand slam.
His slice isn't all that great relative to other 1HBHs.
Just clutching at that one thing to be critical of are ya? 🤣 Just hanging on for dear life.
Oh yes, Tsitsipas has world-class game in every aspect. It's just his insufferable attitude that make me wish him the worst.
Cause your attitude is just the best always.
He did nothing wrong,pretty calm on court,contributes to philanthropy plenty of times
Everyone sometimes has bad moments,mister perfect.
tennis has a lot of disconnect, most top ATP pros don't have any weakness in their strokes. The weakness is just people thinking and they need something to blame on and backhand is usually the first to go, esp a lot of 2 handers want to show their superiority so they bash on one handers
Please complain to ATP. The mistakes from the umpire are not acceptable at this stage
So you want robots to umpire? Cause human beings make mistakes - players, umpires, linespeople. I'd complain about the Supervisors - they're so useless. They're literally there to back up the umpires no matter what so why pay umpire salaries and supervisor salaries? It's too bad linespeople are all losing their jobs next year b/c tennis fans and some players can't handle a mistake once in awhile.
Next he needs to learn how to hit a drop shot. Its horrible.
No. You clearly don't watch his matches
@@bre7342 every drop shot he makes bounces too high. You need to know what a good drop shot is. Im Greek so Ive watched plenty of his matches.
@@jimgerolimatos8962 just because it happens 2 or 3 times doesn’t mean that EVERY drop shot bounces too high. You probably need to watch some more matches (even the ones from some years ago)
He's a very talented player and y'all always act like everything he does its horrible 🤦♀️
Sinner got brutally robbed
He shanks his backhands more than anyone else!
No
No? He shanks his forehands too.
@@rcyc you clearly don't know what you're talking about and probably never watch his matches
If double handed backhand is more powerful. Why the same logic doesn't apply also to forehand ?
physical limitation bro, if you grip your racquet using the non dominant hand above your dominant hand, the two handed forehand style, you can't make the same swing as a two handed backhand, doesn't have the same reach
Try throwing a ball normally, and then throwing the ball backhanded like you would throw a frisbee. One is much easier and the same rule applies here.
Double hander isn’t more powerful.
I strongly believe that Nadal is by far the mentally strongest player in the history of tennis. A mentally weaker Djokovic would be at worst a top 20 player. A mentally weaker Nadal could be number 125 in the world. I don't remember Nadal losing a match as a consequence of nerves or disappointment, I cannot say the same about Djokovic. I wonder how you as a Nadal fan have this impression.
Agreed
Tennis "fans" are stupid and mean, calling guys like Tsitsipas and Ruud names and weak players. Whats your achievement in tennis?
There are three weaknesses to Stef’s backhand game:
1. He doesn’t flatten out crosscourt, preferring instead a loopy backhand. This gives his opponents tons of time to recover.
2. He has only recently developed a backhand down the line. Before, it was almost always crosscourt, again, allowing his opponents to capitalize.
3. He has a very mediocre slice that usually floats and then sits up, allowing opponents to attack.
*4* Bonus: his return of serve is pretty bad. Anytime an opponent needs a freebie point, they serve to his backhand.
His backhand looks good on clay because he has so much more time, also to run around to his forehand if he wants to. Sure, there may not be anything technically wrong with his form, but due to the reasons above, his backhand is for sure a liability - especially against the top 10.
Did you watch monte carlo. He has fixed it. Actually the fix started from Los Carbos last year
@@propgeefixed what? The slice? The flat backhand? Backhand line?
why would you go flat crosscourt assuming you're talking about a neutral rally lol, that makes no sense
Go ahead and keep singing that tired old song you heard from a tired old commenter on Tennis Channel and now you believe it's actually your own thoughts.
@@sexbuffettalking about finishing points in an open court or when opponent is out of position on the deuce side.
You never know if Sinner would have won that match... Tsitsipas had 2 breaks afterwards and i'm sure he could pull a third one as well since Sinner was fully cramped. I'm sure that Sinner didn't have any power left to even stop the match at this point... it was already game over for him since his body was leaving him.
I was attending MC masters since Friday and I was able to watch 2 games of Stefanos. He is not a quality player. He doesn't have any backhand. He is making so many UE during match. He shouldn't be in the finals because Sinner was robbed by the umpire in semis.
This is an insane take on someone winning a masters 1000.
Show us your backhand so we can see what “quality” looks like 😂 🤡
I get you're upset b/c it was a really bad line call. But, it could be said that Rune was robbed in the QFs by bad line call + bogus code violation when the umpire failed to do his job and tell the crowd to be quiet when Rune was serving and instead only turned the crowd even more against Rune. But I won't say that. I'll just give Sinner credit for winning the match. Sinner was still up a break in the decider and could've won from that position, like he's done many other times being up just one break. He didn't. Sinner's best surface isn't clay -- but he showed some excellent tennis and improvements so I'm sure he'll do well in Madrid and Rome and maybe even French Open. It's not that serious.
"He is not a quality player" What? Are you blind? 😅 You're clearly just an hater and clearly don't know what you're talking about.
Salty loser'd comment,Tsitsipas outplayed Sinner in the 1 set and had plenty of breakpoints in the 2 ,plus there was a bad call against Stefanos in the 1 game of the 3 set when he list his serve,the point should have been replayed at 15:15,okey?
Mistakes happen and will happen.
A "not elite" player wouldn't have won ATP finals,3 Monte-Carlo titles,playing in RG and AO finals.
Sinner is a great guy and player,but his annoying fans are shame for the sport of tennis.