Balance

It rained yesterday, and courts at the Golden Gate Park were wet this morning. I hit some against the backboard. I then started hitting with the guy whose name I forget whom I frequently see around these courts and who plays with wooden racquets. I enjoyed hitting with him--he plays old school, with medium pace but with good directional control. After watching myself on tape yesterday and comparing with Federer video, I noticed a few things: I'm leaning too much towards the ball when I'm hitting a forehand. Federer keeps his torso fairly straight. My left arm is bent at the elbow after I release the racquet, and as I hit the ball, the elbow is low. Federer straightens the left arm after he releases the racquet, so that it is parallel to the net, and then as moves it away he keeps the elbow relatively high, just below shoulder level, and the shoulder is extended to the side. I tried these things today and they definitely helped. Especially when I'm stretched wide on a forehand, if I keep my left elbow high and extended, I can hit powerful cross-court forehands. Also, keeping my body balanced and not leaning results in effortless forehands. Also, by inference, I realized that on the backhand I'm leaning towards the ball, and my feet are too close together and don't provide a good base. I started really stepping forward with my right foot and my backhand consistency immediately improved. So, things to remember:

• Stay balanced and upright, wide base, don't fall over
• Actively use the left arm: straighten it after releasing the racquet and then take it away keeping the elbow high, then catch the racquet on the follow-through.
• Aggressively step forward into the ball on the backhand.

Also, I hit with my partner's wooden racquet. I could play with exactly the same strokes; the only difference was less power, and it felt on the backhand as if the racquet was going to crack. Afterwards, he let me keep the racquet: a Slazenger Challenger, made in England. I think I can play with it as well as I can with my Wilson, so I'll humor my friends and play them with it.