mcenroe's play with the volkl actually improved during his stretch on the early days of the senior tour. he was taught less is more in terms of preparation by the highly-regarded coach tony palafox, for it almost guarantees that less will go wrong with the process.
You said his wrist doesn't move. Look closely, starting at the 3:05 mark, he initiates the racquet head toward the ball with help from the wrist. But then he locks it up just prior to contact and through the finish. He needed to use every trick to generate racquet speed.
Very good analysis of the backhand with top spin. Could you analyze John's slice off the backhand as well? He appeared to use feel & touch more than power -- especially at his peak.
His talent always exceeded his technique. Mac Enroe had a 12" back arm, a 5 1/2" wrist, and a 38" chest measurement. Because of his physical strength factor and the heavy wooden racket, he always had to start low on his backhand and forehand strokes. Put your videos on slo-mo, and you'll see that almost 80% of his body went upwards, not forwards, into the stroke. Was he good? Of course, he was good. But in today's game of bigger, stronger, and more conditioned athletes, comparing athletes of 30-40 years ago with today's breed is unfair. With his body size, it's impressive that he accomplished as much as he did. He was never a power player; even Conners, who was thought to bring the power game, could not compete in today's modern tennis.
The main thing was deception -- it was very difficult to determine where he was going. Seems to me like he would hold back til the last moment to suprize the opponent. Now his forehand was nowhere near as good.
Great job!!!!Thanks Doc
mcenroe's play with the volkl actually improved during his stretch on the early days of the senior tour. he was taught less is more in terms of preparation by the highly-regarded coach tony palafox, for it almost guarantees that less will go wrong with the process.
You said his wrist doesn't move. Look closely, starting at the 3:05 mark, he initiates the racquet head toward the ball with help from the wrist. But then he locks it up just prior to contact and through the finish. He needed to use every trick to generate racquet speed.
Very good analysis of the backhand with top spin. Could you analyze John's slice off the backhand as well? He appeared to use feel & touch more than power -- especially at his peak.
His talent always exceeded his technique. Mac Enroe had a 12" back arm, a 5 1/2" wrist, and a 38" chest measurement. Because of his physical strength factor and the heavy wooden racket, he always had to start low on his backhand and forehand strokes. Put your videos on slo-mo, and you'll see that almost 80% of his body went upwards, not forwards, into the stroke. Was he good? Of course, he was good. But in today's game of bigger, stronger, and more conditioned athletes, comparing athletes of 30-40 years ago with today's breed is unfair. With his body size, it's impressive that he accomplished as much as he did. He was never a power player; even Conners, who was thought to bring the power game, could not compete in today's modern tennis.
The main thing was deception -- it was very difficult to determine where he was going. Seems to me like he would hold back til the last moment to suprize the opponent. Now his forehand was nowhere near as good.
Do try and spell correctly a player considerably more important and gifted than you ?