Comparing Federer's Between the Legs Shot

Thats right Roger Federer did it again. A shot between the legs at the US Open for a winner. In 2009 he played this shot against Djokovic in the semi-final. This time it was a lower ranked player he beat with the shot, but the shot itself was still one of pure genius.

In 2009, after watching his shot against Djokovic, we discussed how Federer actually practices a between the legs shot, so that when he pulls it off in a match it cannot be described as lucky. He knows how to play this shot and is probably even trying to hit a winner, so that he is not caught out of position.

On this website we love to compare athletes and performances. Having two examples of Federer's between the leg shot allows us to do a quick comparison.

• Both shots are played as Roger runs backward to retrieve a ball that was lobbed over his head.
• Versus Djokovic, Federer plays his shot behind the baseline. Djokovic is  standing up at the net, so Roger needed to beat him with power and place it just wide enough.
• Versus Brian Dabul in 2010, he plays the shot further behind the baseline than the shot in 2009. This time his opponent stays at the baseline and placement is more important. He needed to go deep into the corner with the shot to wrong foot Dabul and keep the ball out of his reach on the baseline.
• Both shots though need to be played with power and in both cases we can see how Federer sets up with his feet and plays the shot with a lot of wrist action to create speed on the ball.

Take a look at the video below. A comparison is made by John Mcenroe near the end.

Federer gives us a great opportunity to analyze perfection. He practices perfect mechanics all the time and shots come naturally to him in the match because of all his practice and analysis.

Keep using your video camera to analyze and compare your performances.

Federer Practices his Between the Legs Shot!

If you were watching the US Open Men's Semifinal between Roger Federer and Novack Djokovic, you most likely saw Federer's incredible between the legs winner.

If not here it is:



Although we have video and some great angles, I am not sure that I am ready to analyze this shot. It is simply incredible. However, Federer said in the post match interview that he does sometimes practice the between the legs shot. We have also seen him use it before in match play, but never with such great power and precision.

Great players and athletes in any sport analyze and practice their technique all the time. They use video regularly to help them understand how to make improvements. Remember that all you need is a video camera and some basic understanding to analyze your own performances using video. Follow us here and look back through our previous posts to learn some tips and tricks for video analysis.

Mastering the Drop Shot in Tennis

As the 2009 US Open continues, the top 4 ranked players, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Novack Djokovic are all still in with a chance of winning. To win against the likes of these Tennis greats, the players have to have a complete play list of different shots. One of the most lethal is the drop shot. Federer in particular loves the drop shot as a major attacking weapon.

The drop shot can be used to win a point outright, but it can also be used to draw your opponent to the net and set yourself up for a passing shot or to simply get your opponent winded by making them run up to net in an attempt to recover the point. Playing a good drop shot requires not only executing the shot itself but also determining the best time to execute the shot.

Here is some video of Federer with some sublime drop shots. As you watch the video take note of Roger's court position, how he swings the racket and the court position of his opponent in each case.



We can pick out a few tips from analyzing this video.

1. Federer usually plays his drop shot when he is just on the baseline or somewhere between the service line and the base line. It is much more difficult to play the shot when you are way behind the baseline. This is because the ball will need to travel further and it will also give your opponent more time to get to the net to hit a return shot.
2. His opponent in each point is usually way behind the baseline when the drop shot is played. His opponents therefore need to cover much more ground if they want to catch up to the shot.
3. Points 1 and 2 above actually work in combination, because as one player begins to attack , he moves forward and plays close to the baseline, pushing his opponent further behind the baseline. Therefore a drop shot is seldom played as a defensive shot.
4. In each shot Federer cuts under the ball to create backspin. He angles his racket and slices under the ball as if he is trying to chop the bottom of the ball off. Back spin ensure that the ball dies (does not bounce high or forward) once it lands on the other side of the net. This will further reduce the chances of his opponent reaching the shot. Cutting under the ball will also slow the flight of the ball down allowing it to drop closer to the net.

Roger has a great drop shot but he is successful with it because he knows when to play it. Using video analysis we can learn from Roger and practice incorporating the drop shot into our own games.