Backfoot angle on 1hbh.

[malice]

Hi John,

I was curious and was hoping you could shed some light on my question.

Is the angle of the backfoot on the 1hbh important for lining up a shot for power/angle ??

I know there is an alignment of it to the path of the ball , but for the Forehand for example , the ideal angle is parallel with the baseline. Does it matter as much on the 1hbh ?

From some footage , i've seen some people like Fed angle it in this fashion ( parallel) to baseline , then for Gaudio , he goes much further about 45 degrees past the baseline to the backfence.

Is this a matter of shot selection or a function of their grips ?

and sorry if i'm over-analysing it

[John Yandell]

I think when you go crosscourt it may be a bit more open, but yeah I wouldn't think about it.

I'd try to get the foot sideways. This is an argument that goes on with the forehand too and I know the angle isn't always the same.

Yet when I see players try to manipulate this it always looks unnatural and forced to me. Just getting aligned behind the ball is hard enough and the real goal.