www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/impro... This is high definition video footage of Marat Safin warming up at the 2009 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA. The material was shot over the course of several days. This is video 2 of 2.
This is great to see. When it is over, people will kick themselves for not having footage like this. Many of us will be lucky to see a backhand as effective as that in the remainder of our lives. All his shots are beautiful, though. There is nothing like watching that guy smash balls in person. Some people don't know what they are missing, which might be good thing, because like I said, when its over, it is over. This man isn't just another player, I can guarantee you that.
Marat had all of the tools from the neck down to dominate the entire world. Its too bad he couldn't stay committed and focused. I still think his cross-court backhand is one of the sweetest shots tennis ever had.
Dude..i dunno how manyu times i can say this but THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH for all your effort and time! Footage like this is freakin incredible, i didn't get a chance to go this year but this kind of footage is exactly what i would have been looking for! Great Job on all your other vids, your site and your input on TW...keep up the good work buddy! Br
@danielcraig4ever Marat Safin's signature move is his forehand. It may look here as if his backhand is more consistent, but his killer shot is definitely his forehand. His hitting range is rather small (impact near his body) which means that he depends more on his body movement than his arms, so it would be normal to think that most all of his shots would end up inconsistent. Because a double handed backhand is much more power dependent on the body than a forehand, it would be an easier swing.
Wow! This is the first video I've watched on youtube in HD... amazing! I didn't know what I was missing out on. Is it OK to love a backhand so much? If only there was a way to bottle that up. I'm really going to miss Safin.
you can hit the ball flat with any grip you choose. The wrist placement in semi western makes it easier to put spin on the ball during contact thus promotes spin.
@hattrickster33 I dont know much about safin's life . however i know that agassi also had good parts of his life, thats why his game was always up and down
There's topspin even on "flat" shots. Weight of shot is a function of topspin and racquet head speed, which is why Sampras hit a "heavy" shot despite it being fairly flat.
Jay MacDonnell you don't know what you're talking about. Flat absolutely can mean no topspin in the air. Once the ball hits the ground no matter if it has underspin or is completely flat moving through air, it will have forward rotation on ball because of physical laws. Maybe this is what you're confused by. 'heaviness' factor comes mainly from how fast the ball is moving. Spin is an attributing factor, but very small in relation to heaviness caused by pace of the ball. The faster the ball moves, the heavier the ball becomes and the heavier it feels off opponents racquet. Marat satin has the lowest end topspin at 900 rpms compared to other top players at the time. While topping out at a relatively average 3300 rpms on forehand per a 2008 article from tennis magazine. He can hit heavy topspin, but chose to hit mostly on flatter side, especially off backhand. This is what gave him the heaviness factor, flat heavy ground strokes. The average speed of forehand was faster than other top players giving it a heavier feel. www.menstennisforums.com/2-general-messages/121177-forehand-spin-rates-7-top-players.html www.tennisplayer.net/public/heavyball/heavyball_public.html
I like how flat the ball goes off Marat's forehand. Only if Nadal can flatten his forehand, then he wouldn't have as much problem with taller players like del Poltro and Soderling.
Bruce Williamson yes, you are right. If he could have been just a little more dedicated. He must have became the most decorated tennis player of all time
I just think Marat went through a lot. He used to be number 1 in the world I believe, then he dropped so low in the rankings, and he hasn't been winning anything for a while so it should be depressing to be him at that point where he gets mad at practice and in the real match itself.
the guy in the white shirt during the night time clips is terrible. doesn't even belong on the court with safin. who's the lefty with the red shirt, he returns safin's serves well and has solid groundies
Is that Bellucci??????????????????? Damn! If Bellucci got to practice with Safin, I'm gonna be practicing with guys like Tomic, Raonic or Harrison in a near future! Anyways, I really miss Safin on the Tour.
Yes but marat always lost to Rafa in response to the comment made about Rafa's forehand which btw is considered one of the best of all time along with Federers!
