Eye of the Coach #88: “It’s not the end of one-handed backhand”
Patrick Mouratoglou has tipped Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov to bring the one-handed backhand back into the ATP Top 10.
After the Greek dropped down the rankings this week, none of the world’s top ten male players has the one-handed backhand in their arsenal.
But the coach says it’s nothing to worry about.
“I think definitely Grigor can come back to the top ten, he’s very close,” says Mouratoglou in the latest episode of Eye of the Coach.
“Stefanos Tsitsipas is out of the top ten for the first time in five years but he will be back, I’m sure about it.”
Mouratoglou adds that having a one-handed backhand can make it more difficult to reach the top of tennis, because it is harder to return and counterpunch in a game that often relies on big serves and speed from the baseline.
It might be more difficult – but he is quick to add that it is not impossible, pointing to the success enjoyed by Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in recent years.
“I’m sure that there will be here and there big champions with a one-handed backhands,” he says.
KEY MOMENTS
0.00 – It’s not the end of the one-handed backhand, says Patrick Mouratoglou.
0.08 – Seeing an ATP Top 10 without a one-handed backhand shocks people.
0.21 – However, Dimitrov and Tsitsipas can both come back to the Top 10.
0.33 – Having a one-handed backhand makes it more difficult to reach the top of the game – but not impossible.
0.54 – Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka both achieved great success with a one-handed backhand.
1.19 – There will still be champions with a one-handed backhand – and there is no such thing as the end of an era. Mouratoglou points to dominant players in women’s tennis, from Martina Hingis to the Williams sisters to Justine Henin, all of whom had contrasting styles and qualities.
1.58 – Diversity in tennis means everything is possible.
After the Greek dropped down the rankings this week, none of the world’s top ten male players has the one-handed backhand in their arsenal.
But the coach says it’s nothing to worry about.
“I think definitely Grigor can come back to the top ten, he’s very close,” says Mouratoglou in the latest episode of Eye of the Coach.
“Stefanos Tsitsipas is out of the top ten for the first time in five years but he will be back, I’m sure about it.”
Mouratoglou adds that having a one-handed backhand can make it more difficult to reach the top of tennis, because it is harder to return and counterpunch in a game that often relies on big serves and speed from the baseline.
It might be more difficult – but he is quick to add that it is not impossible, pointing to the success enjoyed by Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in recent years.
“I’m sure that there will be here and there big champions with a one-handed backhands,” he says.
KEY MOMENTS
0.00 – It’s not the end of the one-handed backhand, says Patrick Mouratoglou.
0.08 – Seeing an ATP Top 10 without a one-handed backhand shocks people.
0.21 – However, Dimitrov and Tsitsipas can both come back to the Top 10.
0.33 – Having a one-handed backhand makes it more difficult to reach the top of the game – but not impossible.
0.54 – Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka both achieved great success with a one-handed backhand.
1.19 – There will still be champions with a one-handed backhand – and there is no such thing as the end of an era. Mouratoglou points to dominant players in women’s tennis, from Martina Hingis to the Williams sisters to Justine Henin, all of whom had contrasting styles and qualities.
1.58 – Diversity in tennis means everything is possible.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 I don't believe that there won't be any champion in the future with one hand backhand.
00:04 For the first time there won't be any top 10 with one hand backhand.
00:10 I think it shocks people. I think it makes sense.
00:19 I'm not saying that there won't be any other ever.
00:22 I think definitely Grigor can come back to the top 10. He's very close.
00:25 And also Stefanos is out of the top 10 for the first time in five years, but he'll be back.
00:29 I'm sure also about it.
00:31 But it's just a message still that we need to hear that in today's tennis to have a one-handed backhand makes it more difficult.
00:37 And it's already so difficult to reach the top of that game.
00:41 When you put yourself in a situation where it's more difficult because of one-handed backhand,
00:46 then the chances to go to the top are lower.
00:50 It doesn't mean that it's impossible. Of course it's not, but it's more difficult.
00:53 Roger won 20 Grand Slams with a one-handed backhand.
00:56 Stan Wawrinka won three lately also.
00:58 So it is possible, but it's more difficult. It's more difficult to return for sure.
01:02 It's more difficult to counterpunch with one hand.
01:04 And today's game, the serves are huge. People play fast from the baseline, deep.
01:09 So you're often on the back foot and it's not that easy to be able to use the pace when you have a one-handed backhand.
01:16 It's much easier with two hands. So that's why it's so difficult.
01:19 So I think we'll see less one-handed backhand in the future,
01:22 but I'm sure that they will be here and there big champions with one-handed backhand.
01:25 I don't believe that there won't be any champions in the future with one-handed backhand.
01:29 People love to do that. They love to say, "Oh, that's the end of an era and it's a new era."
01:33 And every time they say that, it's wrong.
01:35 You know, when Martina Hingis was number one,
01:38 "Oh, it was the end of the era of this player who played flat on both sides.
01:41 Now it's the era of the smart players who play tactical."
01:44 And then the Williams come and they become number one.
01:46 Both of them, "Oh, it's all about power. If you don't have power, you can't reach the top.
01:50 You have to be big and powerful."
01:51 And then Justin Henin becomes number one in the world, being small and not powerful,
01:56 but with many other qualities.
01:57 So I don't believe in end of eras. I believe in diversity in tennis.
02:01 Everything is possible for anyone with his qualities.
02:04 And you can reach the top with one-handed backhand, but it's more difficult.
02:07 [Music]