The Sneakiest Weapon in Tennis 

This vid should be called: "The Sneakiest Weapon in Tennis: Common Sense, with a full 10 min in-depth explanation."

So basically hit it where your opponent isn't. Really great strategy. Never thought of that before

"His forehand is so money."

I`m a tennis beginner and after seeing your FYB Videos my game seems to have come on leaps and bounds...keep up the good work and keep sending me the links to the coaching videos...great job !

This video should have been two minutes long.

“His forehand is so money” love that

Good analysis, and great point. Djokovic and Warinka are probably the only top 5 players in recent memory to have stronger backhands than forehands, and Djoker turned the corner in his career when he learned how to take that ‘retriever’ mindset and turn it into an asset by winning these defense-to-offense exchanges. (About the same time when he gained mental toughness and fitness.). He’s not my favorite player, but gotta respect his accomplishments against the other 2 best players in history.

Great info, thanks.

@scooobydoo27 Oh I never said this was easy to pull off. Actually, it's quite difficult, particularly w/ the example I provided. But that's why it's a "sneak attack" and why it's so effective when you can do it.

Great Scope of knowledge ,insight, and tacticle strategy!!!!!! Thank You!!!!!!!

DNO is new to me - appreciate this - clear examples too

Excellent, thanks.

Hi Will. Great video. First class analysis as always. I'm no expert at all, but the one thing I like what Novak does is that he returns a wicked running cross-court forehand when he is pushed wide on the forehand side. I've seen him turn defense into attack in an instant so many times using this. It totally throws off his opponent and gives him time to set up the killer put-away for the winner.

Going to try this next time im on court! Great analysis!

hey will i am stuck and i was wondering if i could get some advice, i am a competitive, junior, and i play tournaments and i am probably about a 5 on the ntrp playing scale. i have a lot of weapons and can hit big, consistent and well placed shots, but my shot selection is horrible. every time i get in an advantageous position, a approach shot or lob, i rush myself and screw it up. how can i calm myself down during a point so i pick the right shot to hit?

@FYB2007 What if the right hander was hitting the inside forehand from the alley? Should he/she aim to go sharp or deep? If the opponent is a lefty would it be smarter to hit the lower percentage inside in forehand to the lefty's backhand? Thanks for the great videos man.

Thank you I'm going to try it today.

@TheRob2D Thanks!

thanks for the lesson hope to use it in my games

1. Some legit points but dont like the marketing scam title "sneaky"... those guys are 3 of the top players that ever played... nothing they do is "sneaky" LOL.. but hey u succeeded in making me watch most of this so, good job. 2. I knew Novak would be a great player when I saw him a play a match when he just turned 18 and he had one of the best groundstrokes hit from a full run to a sliding stop, even on hard courts, consistently hit within 10ft of the baseline with pace, which meant it took 3-4 quality shots from an opponent to even make a dent in his armor. So for a guy who is this talented (reminds me of Agassi at times) at ball striking, hitting any shot is no challenge. 3. Instead of sneaky, what this is all about it that Novak is such a great ball striker, he can hit LOW PERCENTAGE shots, which are down the line on the run and any shot with great pace and consistency on the run (ala Sampras' running forehand winners) that only great champions have. Great players are great because they play smart. What does smart mean? Play the percentages. Then u have a guy who can break those trends and thats why he was #1 for a while... unfortunately Rafa is also just as great so........ its a great era in men's tennis still. 4. These "sneaky" shots dont happen match after match against these guys, they happen in a few moments, so this whole thing is a bit overblown. Rafa and Fed arent dumb enough to make the same mistakes over and over after they have played each other so many times. This happens more when they mishit or just dont put the pace they wanted to on the inside out or offensively risky shot because their footwork wasnt perfect etc., and that shot slowed by even 10mph is enough for Novak to eat it up. Even for Fed in his aging body, if he hits a clean inside out forehand towards the line short of the baseline for more angle at 90mph, no way Novak can hit winners down the line unless he totally guesses. Unfortunately this is just happening less and less for Fed, cant fight age. 5. One thing you forgot to mention is Novak's inhuman reaction time and explosive first 2 steps. You can have the best down the line backhand in the world, but if u dont get there in time, it doesnt matter. If you time his reaction on the service return, there are actually times he breaks 0.2 second on the physical reaction to the ball that would rival or better Ted Wiliams and a juiced up Barry Bonds, ie, its pretty %$^&% good.

His shirt sums up the video.

Awesome video :)

Great Video Pal....

i love these self proclaimed tennis experts, making 10 minute videos out of the most obvious, simple things that can be described in a minute.

Hi Wil, Thks for putting it togetther. One thing that dicates the direction of Rafa's inside-out forehand would be where Dj is in the court. I dont think he would run around his backhand to hit his forehand up the line unless he thought Dj was positioned more in the deuce court. If Dj is leaning or in the add court seems Rafa would hit the forehand inside out.. hope that is clear

really good tips

That's great!!! I found myself zoning out during this vid too.

@ROCCOPY Yes, assuming that Roger / Rafa hit a quality ball. But the inside-in forehand is riskier because you have less court to work with and your recovery point is further. So if you don't hit a great shot your (right-handed) opponent will have a pretty good look on his forehand. On the other hand, if you don't hit a great inside-out forehand you'll probably be able to hit another one on the next shot because your opponent will hit the ball back cross court. But not Novak!

Hey Will! Quick question: after watching this lesson, is it okay to say that the "sneakiest weapon" that Djokovic uses is anticipation followed by a "counter-punching" backhand shot? Thanks for the time. P.S. Don't forget Nalbandian's double-backhand. :)

DUDE this video is awesome! Thanks Will! I'll be using this tomorrow to beat my rival!

I try to do what Federer does, look for a good forehand and go inside out wide. On the last few times i played a friend he has been ready and there to hit that ball back to me when i thought it was all over. So this was a good analysis. I think i will be more patient and careful for picking that shot and perhaps go inside in down the line to add variety rather being so predictable to go inside out. perhaps approach the net to follow through if struck well.

Good point there (as usual I'd have to say) I've never tried that strategy mostly because of the fact that I hit a one-handed backhand (a rather good one). But hey, I've got a strategy for that as well. I just make sure I hit a more than decent backhand to my opponent's backhand side. That way I can get move into the court to attack my opponent.

woww thanks for that! will use it in my matches as well ;)

I might be wrong but it seems that you're assuming that they'd always run around the backhand and hit the ball towards their opponent. Making for a relatively easy backhand down the line. When they would hit an inside in forehand, the case would be very different. As their opponent would have to run in order to send the ball back. Making a crosscourt ball way harder to hit. Even if the opponent did manage to hit the ball, they would have more than enough time to run and hit the ball back down the line for the finish. Something to take into consideration in my opinion.

So... Novak's "sneaky" weapon is a good backhand? Better than most other players? Too much science here me thinks?

Where did you get your shirt, Will?

I actually use this a lot, but many times it is after they try to hit an approach shot to my backhand side, and come to the net, and i can just rip it down the line. :D i don't do this very much during baseline rallies to put them on offense, so i should probably do this a little earlier in the points. Thanks!

thank you !

@xmodcamaro Gracias!

Hi Will, Nice job as always. Your presentations are always so clear and informed, yet not professorial and boring. The one criticism I would have with the theory is in the situation where the player attempting to go on offense hits the ball AWAY from Djokovic (not into his wheelhouse backhand), making him switch to forehand and dash to the far right corner of the court. Wouldn't this put Novak on the D and lead to a potentially N return that Fed/Rafa could pounce on?

Hi Will. I sometimes I hit with an ex-pro player who can execute this strategy uncannily well. He has a one handed backhand, and can redirect my inside-out fh down the line very consistently and accurately. It's almost like a half-volley. Very Agassi-esque, but a one hander. It doesn't have a ton of pace on it, so I can run it down at times.. I no longer bother though, because it's deep, and I can't get enough on my running FH to make it worthwhile. My ball ends up being a melon that he can easily put away. I guess my point is that he doesn't have to crush the BH Like Novak to put me on the defensive. Also, I like your point about Fed waiting for the best opportunity to go inside out. Same applies here... If I'm patient, I can hit a fh that has too much on it for my guy to redirect. Hopefully,I get a BH to the middle, setting me up for a big FH. The paradox being that if I go FH to FH with him, my chances are much better. What my opponent does is unusual. It takes confidence, a deft touch, and most club players can't do it do it. Even for this kind of "half-volley" shot, your timing has to be impeccable.

My club Championships are coming up! FYB is my go to coaching aid! Lovvvve it!

Usually I'll try and just keep the rally neutral if my opponent is trying to go on offense rather than try and make them go on defense.

Thanks Will; I tell beginners not to run around their backhand as they will be punished for creating a space for their opponent to hit into. Thanks for pointing out that even Roger and Rafa get punished too. Colin

@FYB2007 hey will, awesome video as always, I am a huge fan!!! However, could you tell me why you think djokovic has improved so much in the past year to earn him the no. 1 spot? Some people say it's sth to do with his diet? What do you think?

this is one of the rare time where people are not focusing on Will's hair lols

I really liked this tactical court analysis!

While I liked the stuff you said about trying to notice if your opponent exposes himself at all when trying to go offense, and you gave some decent info on how important your court position is to people who don't understand that, I have to say the sneaky weapon thing is ridiculous for most players and here's why: first off this play is for pros like Novak and Murray because trying to take a decently struck inside out FH and take it up the line with your BH is a very difficult shot that most players lower than 4.0 can't do even semi regularly, especially because most 4.0 and lower players do not try to run around their FH on a regular basis either and once you get to the level where they do, the FH is coming in pretty heavy and deep in the court often. To me this 'sneaky" play is of no help to anyone other than pros because you have to have a pro level BH to be able to use this play. Although a right handed player going cross court when a lefty runs around their BH to hit a FH is a play the average player could much more consistently pull off. But right handed player vs right handed player to me is way too high risk for us who are not pro's.

Hey Will Ben here from NY. While I was watching the video I remembered an ultra long rally in the Men's Aussie Open 09 final where the rally ended with Rafa painting a down the line shot after a relatively well struck inside out forehand by Roger. Considering the fact that Rafa is a lefty, do you think it was a better idea for Fed to hit that inside out from the alley or take the chance of going inside in?

there is this concept about rafa that i think you havent got in mind, when he does those inside-outside forehands in 7:14, he ussualy does, also in paralel ones, a quite high shot, so his opponent can risk on a hard to get ball and wont attack him and keep the rally, and when rafa wants to approach to the net, he ussualy changes this high far balls for low and short lifted balls, ussualy looking for open angles. or, a high speed one close to the player that would return as an easy ball to win

Great Video. Agree with your points. Another factor is that Rafa's backhand seems to have gotten weaker, most of time it comes back as looper and Novak is taking advantage of that. For Roger the exchange can never last long enough backhand to backhand either he shanks it or just leaves it too short for Novak to take advantage.

Great T-Shirt !

You are such a smart person with good teacher potential

Hey Will! You should draw smiley faces (or game faces) on the circles, maybe that'll clear up some of the confusion with the icons. Great insight, nice shirt!

"Because his [Roger's] forehand is so money..." hahaa

@16Grantf completely agree. every dang time lol. sunk costs man... just go with the flow and make it a racket already.

Yes I have used this before lol. My coach has a huge inside out forehand. So I've noticed if I slice it short to his backhand he will run around it and 9/10 will hit an inside out forehand to my backhand. Now my backhand isn't the greatest but when you give me plenty of pace its easy just to redirect it down the line. Win's me a lot of free points even when he knows its coming hes just in such a bad position.

Perfect example of this strategy would be the match point Nole converted to win the ATP World Tour Finals a week ago against Federer :P Brilliant point by Fed, one run-around forehand into the Novak backhand and it's game over... I was rooting for Federer but that backhand was a thing of beauty...

@Rexerco Thanks Rex! I bet others will following Novak's lead and start hitting to the open court versus Rafa.

he returns just as well from his FH

@FYB2007 Thanks!

Nice coach

God job coach

Yeah man, easier said than done. Roger is going to run around his BH only after a penetrating BH, so it's going to be next to impossible to hit a fast BH up the line, over the high net and with the shortest margin for error.

hey will :) i always have the same problem in my matches. I can't win against players who only play the ball back. even if my shots are better than his. i lose quite often against players like this. they only play really slow or high topspin shots. its really frustrating because after 10-15 shots i always make an unforced error. and if i try to attack i shot 3-4 balls in the corner and then i can't finish the point. i know many other players who can't deal with these "only play back players"

This guy is amazing, keep going FYB!!!

where should your eyes be on? Should u be actually watching the opponents positioning or should you just use your peripherals cus ur looking at the ball?

YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST SHIRTS LOL. i still remember the "updog" shirt, (yes i get the joke!) you wore with yann. where do you find these novelties?

did you get that shirt from thinkgeek??

Good backhand=Sneaky tennis..Wow!

I'd say more sneaky is from rafa to hit only slow spinny fore hands inside out down the line to get novak frustrated not being able to use the counter backhand and then maybe to go with the pace to novaks middle or forehand. It's all about wearing each other out with novak and rafa. It's mental game and they both know the strategies and tactics of each other..

In other words, key to playing Novak is to play more patiently. But overall wait for a much better ball to work with. Which alludes to hitting more shots deep in the middle. Play like the best clay court player there is. The other key I would think is maybe not to simply flatten out strokes but add a lot of topspin to it. While it may phase Djokovic too much, the fact that the ball is rising more steeply can produce better opportunities to attack, as the timing on the rise must be more accurate.

what about the invisible line? if roger rips it to djokovics back hand cross the imaginary line shouldnt that angle have a low percentage and should djokovic be in a position where he has to hit it back to federer????

I'd say this "sneaky" tactic is vintage Nadal style. Once his opponent moves in to clean up the point, down comes the running forehand up the line winner.

what if im not playing against fed or nadal

You really need to change your icons. Very confusing as it basically shows a tennis racket (anything else would do really). And when you say backhand to backhand, it looks like a forehand from ad court across the net going towards ad-court forehand.

Technically, yes, because Novak's forehand is relatively powerful, but it doesn't really matter since if Nadal can construct the point in a matter that opens the court enough to place a ball towards Novak's backhand with his forehand with an inside-in shot (assuming Rafa uses Federer's strategy)

I play one guy that ALWAYS runs around his backhand, going to focus on punishing him, at least make him run far for the next forehand.

@samm876 So getting your opponent to switch from offense to defense without them realizing isn't that sneaky to you? What do you think is then? Even if you don't agree with him you don't have to call his video stupid.

Might have been easier to use actual footage. I get the gist of it, and do try to get my backhands to go down the line when I see them put pace on inside out.

really wish he had some type of VISUALS all this explaining and no footage at all makes it hard to conceptualize but thanks

The sneakiest weapon in tennis is serving while the opponent is toweling off.

I would say the premise of such SNAFUs of players that are unable to beat Djokovic is found at the fundamental level of tennis. Many of us, including myself, walk to a tennis court thinking that the opponent has a weak backhand. The problem is, that in most cases, that is true. Djokovic was smart to master his backhand thus making him less afraid to use it. Therefore, he can position himself nearer the center of the court, and in case he gets a backhand shot, he doesnt have to hesitate

Nasty. It's sneaky when he exposes himself

becoming number 1 with a win got to him, he was not getting his footing at all because he was uncomfortable with the clay on that particular Friday on June 3rd, and it was just so evident in the rallies they got into....3) Roger is the greatest player in history, he was just on that day, and he pulled out all the stops and really took the wind out Djokovic's sails by winning an epic first set and taking advantage early in the 2nd... Nole almost came back, but Roger still won. He beats Rafa at..

So all of that to say that a solid backhand is a weapon? Wow! That was really great. Very technical sounding. I'm sure making simple concepts look complex helps to get more subscribers. Mathmatical models like D-N-O "progressing from Defense to Offense" - really? How about "TMOC"? Tennis Made Overly Complicated.

sneaky weapon; hit a better shot than the opponent thinks you can play!

One word....counterpunch

That's impressive. The problem that Rafa an the King both have incredible forehands, thou completely different. Rafa hits w/ such spin that he is capable, from run around, hit 80% into before T-end and this mean trouble (surely it is prone to UE but in Rafa case - seldom). The King after run around is almost never out of position. Adding to it the placement and the pace wins a lot against best "sneakers". The true however is the athleticism of the Joker and depth of his strokes and this is what make him unique. It is almost impossible to run Novak to the death but he does it a lot with success to other.

Best backhand: Federer or Wawrinka?

useful

@hattrickster33 well if you put it in that perspective, you're totally right :)

that shirt is amazing

Most club players will make a redirected backhand down the line 3 out of ten times

This is more or less the "counterpunching" strategy. It requires an ability to anticipate the aggressive shot and redirect the heavy ball with accuracy. What makes Novak so awesome is his ability to overwhelm his opponent's weaknesses but also to attack his opponent's strengths.

you remind me of George from grey's anatomy, that's a good thing lol

Sooo your sneaky weapon is "When your opponent hits a really strong shot hit one back that is better?" Yeah, real sneaky...

This is sneaky? This is common sense that should come to you naturally. Basically, it's called court sense.

Novak's backhand works much the same way Federer's forehand worked in his prime. People thought they had the offensive position vs Roger and then he would put them on defense with one swing. The key to beating Novak is to hit up the middle, since he has rather poor footwork compared to Federer and Nadal. And he can't exploit the angles that way as well.

I have to practice my backhand.