The Top 3 Players and Their Forehands...

Question

So there is no doubt that Rafael Nadal is the best player in the world right now followed by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. No one else is close to these three. The interesting thing about these three men is that they play very different styles of tennis but they all have a deadly weapon in their forehand. The interesting thing to me is that they each hit it differently. Nadal uses an upper-cut like swing to put huge amounts of top spin on it. Federer uses what I would call a textbook forehand, a compact swing that generates velocity unmatched by any other groundstroke in the game. Djokovic uses a long, loping stroke to hit his forehand. He seems to start winding up before the ball is even on his side of the court.

Who do you think has the best forehand in the game? I still think it is Roger Federer because it alone almost brought him back in the Wimbledon final, of course it has also become a bit inconsistent as of late. But still, if you ask me, when it is on, the Federer forehand is still the most lethal shot in tennis.

Answer 1

I think Karlovic's serve is the most lethal shot in tennis lol. But back to your question.

Nadal's forehand is perfect for Clay and works well on grass. It kicks up so high to a player's backhand it is by far the best for that surface. I would say his forhand works better on grass then Federer and Djokovic's too. It's because of the grass amplifying the spin on that. It's a different shot and add the lefty factor and you've got Nadal.

Federer's forehand used to be just a beast. It is more textbook, but it has had some huge struggles recently. I think the biggest thing he has about it is his great control. It doesn't help him much on clay, but it does do wonders on Grass and Hard court. I'd say his forhand is the best on grass.

Djokovic's forehand however is like reading how to hit a forehand out of a book. Take your racquet back and swing from low to high brushing over the ball. He has the most textbook and "perfect" forehand in the world actually. If you have people analyze it, they'll agree. He has the best forehand on Hard Court and possibly overall.

Just a little props to Monfils, he set the record for fastest forehand ever recorded at 118 MPH! That's amazing. So I guess to sum it up they all have courts in which they're better, but overall I think that textbook always beats tweaks so I'd say Djokovic's forehand

Answer 2

Assuming all these players' forehands are on...

1. Roger Federer- its amazing. he can completely dictate play with it and theres a reason Nadal serves constantly to his backhand. Roger isn't having the best year esp the last two tournaments but we all know that talent hasn't gone anywhere. When its on its beautiful (and more often than not, its on) So yes, Roger by a long shot.

2. Novak Djokovic- it can hit winners, its reasonably sound, and its the 2nd best in the top three. His backhand, however, often makes it look not so good. However, Like Rog, he has been inconsistant of late. When he gets that forehand going its def capable of many many winners.

3. Nadal - I see Nadals backhand as his weapon. he hits winners off it. His forehand seems to loop kind of midcourt on the hard stuff. Consistant yes- his backhand is more likely to crash into the net than the forehand- but I don't think its even the third best in the top ten. Sure he makes few unforced errors with it, but on hard court (and I'm gonna talk about hard courts cos that the current season) it can be punished. Tsonga did the best example of taking those short forehands early and punishing them (and chanrging net). Djok did the same in the first set in Cincy. Good on clay and grass, yes, but maybe just a little bit average on the hard stuff.  

Answer 3

well it depends on what surface they are playing on.. that complments there forehand even more

for nadal obvioulsy the clay courts complment nadals forehand the most... all that excess top spin

on hardcourts i would have to say djovicks forehand.. the ablity he has to take short balls and crush them. and how he hits the forehand very early..

federer the most fluent and technically sound forehand.. just not this year.. but before yes...

Answer 4

Yes I agree Federer's forehand is the best but have you noticed he's been quite off from that side recently? Usually the errors come from the backhand side but now he's spraying those forehand all over the place. But Federer still can hit those forehand winners with ease, and it's a thing of beauty.

I am also very impressed with Djokovic's forehand. Usually people commend his two-handed backhand, and of course it's great, but people never talk about his forehand. Against Nadal in Cincinnati he was absolutely crushing the short balls on the forehand side. When he's hitting those forehands he should come in to the net every time. But his forehand breaks down sometimes and he loses consistency, as you saw in his two losses against Murray.

Answer 5

firstly i would like to compliment you on your accurate and great analysis of the top 3 's forehands.

i think that federer has a great forehand, but on clay and even grass it is nadals that is really effective with all that spin.

on hard, i think federer and novak both have great forehands.

as for the best forehand, even though i am a nadal fan, i have to say that overall novak has the best forehand.