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Dissect the Harrison forehand

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This photo is from March at the Sony Open practice courts, Harrison is hitting with Klahn, they are playing baseline games. I recall Klahn was clearly besting Harrison with his depth and penetration.

This photo seems to show some flaws in the Harrison forehand. I know it’s only one shot, and it could have been an awkward difficult ball, but the stiff leg and off balance foundation, not to mention the crammed in arms just doesn’t look right for an ATP pro player, for my eyes at least.

What do you think of the Ryan Harrison forehand, which, let’s not forget, did propel the Louisianan to a career high ranking of #43 in July two years ago…

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31 comments

  • bjk · September 26, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    I’m no stroke doctor or tennis expert, but that hasn’t stopped me before. I’ve been watching some of his matches and he’s fast, has a good serve and OK backhand and good variety. However he wins Querrey/Anderson level of return games. During points, it’s very easy to push him deep behind the baseline. These two points show the basic problem.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mkp77dn5kOo#t=63

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mkp77dn5kOo#t=128

    He’s being pushed around by Denis Kudla. He’s got to stand closer and take the ball earlier. Maybe the problem is that his stroke preparation is too slow on both slides, he gets pushed back and then it’s easy to push him around.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 26, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    In the photo above it looks like Harrison is trying to take the ball early as he is hovering on the baseline. But it looks uncomfortable for him to do that. I have to say I’ve seen a lot of Harrison matches the last couple of years and his athleticism seems unsuited for tennis. He’s a tremendous fighter though and very smart and via that he was able to get to top 50. I think he has to hone his game now, change some things. Really work on improving his hands and versatility, practice the slice off both wings, do a ton of mini tennis, work on becoming a better athlete. If he can get to 43 as a teenager he can get to top 20 within two years. There is some extraordinary talent inside Harrison, he just needs the right coach or ship captain to lead the way.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 26, 2014 at 11:44 pm

    Scoop, on the one hand you say his athleticism isn’t suited for tennis and on the other that he’s an extraordinary talent. Which is it? It can’t be both? The guy clearly is not cut out to be a top player. I don’t know how he got into the Top 50. He can fight pretty well until of late, but he’s hitting off his back foot too much.

    If I were Harry, I’d hire Spadea. Make a big pitch to him because Spadea tinkered with his forehand a lot and knows about how to weather the vicissitudes of the tour. But I’m sure he’ll go back to some USTA hired gun like Diego Moyano instead who reached a height of No. 130 and really hasn’t guided any American player to the Promised Land.

    I think Donaldson was really smart to think out of the box and hire Dent.

  • Andrew Miller · September 27, 2014 at 2:00 am

    Dan good point hitting off back foot, big ni no. Nadal seems to do on occasion but Nadal has superior rotation, positioning- more square to the ball and not “facing” ball. Hits less with open stance than sonewhat closed stance. Open stance – this open – doesnt work. Harrison gets in way of his racquet.

    So- square up, move feet so that he is moving into ball. This shot requires too much shoulder.

    Second, finish forward, into the court.

    Third this moves Harrison backwards. If he is hitting vs. klahn who has zero spin on his shots you shouod be well within court.

    What else. Harrison has a weird way of shanking a ball as if it is mishit. Suggests he is pulling up too soon admiring the shot. Id have him catch the racquet out in front above his head. It is old school but it provides stability, like the Agassi forehand. Or the Federer forehand. Or Berdych. The berdych game is rock solid if not very boring. But i think Harrison needs boring. He can be intense and boring – good attitude and fight for it while playing more s siund ball.

    Smyczeks turn vs. Donaldson in napa semis.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 27, 2014 at 8:28 am

    Skip Spadea and hire Andrew Miller as Harry’s coach. I do agree Andrew, it’s totally different the way Nadal hits on his back foot because of the torque he gets with his body and his racquet head speed. And I also agree Harry should go back to a more conventional follow through because now he tends to flip his shots and not hit through them enough.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 27, 2014 at 9:00 am

    Dan, it takes something special for Harrison to get to top 43 with his unusual physical athleticism which does not look especially suited for tennis the way the fluidity of Dimitrov, Kei, Thiem, Coric, etc do. For Harrison to be in the ATP mix and have a lot of good wins over better players shows he has something extraordinary. Great post Andrew. I agree Harrison has to think outside the USTA box, that avenue brought him to 200. He needs a coach like Blake, Spadea, Dent, someone who knows. Who the heck is Diego Moyano, with all due respect?

  • Andrew Miller · September 27, 2014 at 11:15 am

    Gambill may be bad choice bc of the two hands off both wings. Maybe usta pays for a lot of.the coaching and feels responsible no idea. Could be a money thing . My point is this: whatever is being instructed is not working. It has backfired. The game and the attitude or court are bad. Harrison might walk away from this tournament and say well ginepri klahn and the guys i usually compete with lost also, or mcgee lost also who i played tough and donaldson must be good making the semifinals but nothing is wrong with my game.

    Scoops picture says otherwise and so does the harrison loss. At the very minimum he needs to either scout his opponent for the next match or have someone else do it. At least have a game plan other than just gonna play my game.

  • Bryan · September 27, 2014 at 1:21 pm

    Allow me to dissect the Harrison forehand: It sucks.

    Fire his coach and get a new one who will drill proper mechanics into his head. Also the coach should be a disciplinarian who will make him train hard. Harrison is a naturally talented mental midget.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 27, 2014 at 1:28 pm

    Not sure how long Gambill actually worked with Harrison for but I did not see him at US Open or Newport. There is no doubt in my mind Gambill is a very very good tennis mind and coach. Another candidate I’d like to see work with Harrison is Todd Martin. Martin got a bum rap for his work with Fish and Djokovic, it was bad timing that he was with them when they were struggling. Sure Martin couldn’t get them out of their funks but I’m not blaming Martin for their struggles. Martin is as bright and smart as anyone in tennis IMO.

  • Andrew Miller · September 27, 2014 at 4:22 pm

    Djokovic fired Martin bc Martin ruined the Djokovic serve. Absolutely ruined it.

    As for bryans idea on the proper technique maybe Harrison needs an Australian or European coach. Hire Cahill or a French coach like Santoro . Or Li Na. Or Monica Seles. Or Mary Pierce and her brother. Just some people that know the game. Get away from Moyano, Berger, Higueras, even Gullickson sorry to say, not the caliber of coach needed.

  • Andrew Miller · September 27, 2014 at 4:26 pm

    David wheaton. Mal washington. Krickstein. Just someone who knows the sport reqs. Roddick suffered when he went down the coaching ladder – he did good with TarkB, bettrr with Gilbert, then a bad coach then Connors recovery, then bad again, then pmac awful, then finally stefanki back in business.

    For players with tech flaws need best most credible legit coach available. Generally u.s. players either play it safe or hire close to home. That strategy has resulted lately in worse and worse results.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 27, 2014 at 7:32 pm

    Money will be an issue now for Harrison as he’s gotta go to the minors where the purse money is very small, even if you win the Challenger or Future. Not sure if he wants to pay a coach to travel right now. Definitely tough times now. Gonna take some big bold decisions and to right the ship. Stefanki might be an interesting choice too. SO many options. Mary Pierce. Jim Pierce. I like the Spadea idea a lot.

  • Andrew Miller · September 27, 2014 at 8:14 pm

    Smyczek beats Donaldson in 3. Smycze. Is becoming iron mike ii.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 28, 2014 at 5:49 am

    Good win for Timmy. He is often under-estimated because of his size, past results except for last year’s Open aren’t great and he’s from Wisconsin.

    The average player can’t fathom how disappointing and deflating it must be for Harry to take this tumble. I was talking to Chris Mayotte, who coaches my son, and my son is playing his second tournament this weekend and Chris said, “Every tournament I ever played I thought I was going to lose.” And this from a guy who was all-American at University of South Carolina and No. 81 in the world, reached US Open second round twice.

    But he had a brother who did much better and he said to me yesterday, something to the effect of, “I stunk.” Yes, he did get crunched on the pro tour and retired after only a couple of years of playing it, but most people who’ve played in slams and won matches in them, wouldn’t be so harsh in their assessment of their playing careers. Heck, I lost 6-3, 6-4 in the pre-qualis of a Satellite in Avignon, France to an Italian player and I think that’s a pretty good career.

    But there’s a lot of self-laceration in tennis and Harry is probably administering a good dose of it to himself right now.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 28, 2014 at 5:51 am

    I’m sorry, Chris reached the third round of US Open and beat Fibak there once and other best win was Larry Stefanki.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 28, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    Who would have ever thought Smyczek would be ranked much higher than Harrison for two years in a row. Tennis is a funny game. Sock vs. Dolgo first round in Japan, interesting match.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 28, 2014 at 1:11 pm

    How is this for an interesting match first round this week Sacramento Challenger…Harrison vs. Kozlov. Wow. Querrey top seed in Sac, Q Ball is skipping the Asian circuit though he is ranked #54.

  • Andrew Miller · September 28, 2014 at 1:27 pm

    Dan – the way Nadal talks about tennis isn’t the same as how Harrison talks about it, or even how Isner talks tennis. For the better (best as in Nadal, very good like Isner, speaking in pro terms) they take every match as the most important and every tournament as the most important (at that moment). There’s no looking forward to the top 10 or winning wimbledon or even speaking to the press.

    My hunch is something else is up, something in the Harrison personal life, with the on court explosions and the clip of him yelling at his dad. The guy looks puffy, out of shape (for him), messed up, tired, not shaving (sometimes) etc. Heavier than he was (he’s like a truck but now he’s really like a truck; on this point though, Sam Groth is a big fella and he’s not having issues – so Harrison can at least equal Groth in his movement). That’s all a matter of personal choice but this is not the same guy who burst on the US Open Scene in 2010 through the qualifying rounds. Here’s to quote tennis-prose from 2010.

    “All right, we saved the best for last. Ryan Harrison did it again with another dramatic, dynamic three set win on Court 11. Harrison defeated Ricardo Hocevar 6-4 in the third. At 4-4, Hocevar was serving at 30-all and missed a very makeable forehand volley into the net, with a big opening cross court. Hocevar was up 30-love in the game too. You knew right then Harrison was going to seize on the opportunity and exactly that he did. Harrison then served it out without any trouble and after match point, dropped his racquet and gave a massive fist pump to the jam packed half-stadium. This guy is a star in the making, ready for his national breakout moment, a natural big match, big court player who thrives in the drama and excitement. After the match, Harrison signed for kids, took photos, answered questions, replied to positive comments with the politeness and class of a veteran champion. I’ve seen a lot of ‘em and have no doubt Ryan Harrison is a future champion.”

    So that was a third round U.S. Open qualies match from a 17-18 year old player.

    Or after his 2nd round qualies match:

    “The match of the day, pardon me, night, had to be Ryan Harrison vs. Rui Machado on Court 4. Harrison was up early 3-1 but then squandered the set 5-7 to the feisty and lightning quick welterweight from Portugal. It was a packed house, with Larcher De Brito – she’s still here? She was at the Robson match in the morning. And younger brother Christian Harrison is standing near us watching the action behind rows of fans. Ryan Harrison pulled out the second set in a tight tiebreak but then fell behind 0-3 in the third. I left in the second set but a friend texted me that Harrison was cramping and serving underhand. The next time I look at the score, astoundingly I see that Harrison wins four games in a row. It’s 4-3 Harrison. Then it’s over, 6-3 for Harrison. Talk about a performer. Are we about to see the breakout U.S. Open for Ryan Harrison? If you haven’t seen Harrison, he looks headed to the big time. Big serve, tremendous defense, big hitter from the baseline, steady, smart. I really like his athleticism, intelligence, poise and intensity.”

    Harrison is still a good athlete. He’s still articulate. He’s still intense. But he’s not poised these days and he’s not very focused during his matches, where he loses it emotionally (and not in a way to distract the opponent and take advantage, like a McEnroe would do – this is to distract himself and then lose sets).

    If Harrison just focused during his match and gets back some of that curiosity in the sport rather than this huge need to talk to the press and be the future U.S. star, the guy to save U.S. tennis (not his job – his job is simple like Nadal’s – prepare for every match and give the best chance possible to advance to round 2), he’d have won more of the matches he lost this year. I think the Donaldson match says it all – one guy was looking too far ahead and the other, having just arrived on the scene, saw the challenger as his opportunity. After playing this challenger, Harrison went and played an exhibition, no doubt for big money, and was seen by the media covering the event as the future U.S. star.

    They should’ve saved that comment for other players, given that Harrison’s been in a more than one year slump and no U.S. player going from #43 to #200 can be put in the same sentence as future U.S. star. It should be “player in crisis that needs to get back to basics and love of the game”.

    It’s that simple. He only has to care about the game or point he’s in and not look forward to being in slams. The rest will take care of itself and in no time flat he’ll appreciate how he’s no longer cannon fodder for Dimitrov and Raonic, and how he’ll face those guys in a later round, and actually get into a sportscenter highlight that’s not “and watch this Dimitrov winner”. He’ll be under the radar and deeper into his tournaments, just what any player wants – NO coverage.

    He should also fire his IMG agent. B.S. that whoever is advising him has him playing exhibitions. Maybe like Scoop said, $$$. Gotta eat.

    I am hard on Harrison because I think it’s b.s. I think he’s gone down the rankings himself. I think he’s gotten rotten advice. And I think someone keeps putting big ideas in his head, like a terrible agent. Fire all of them and hire your injured brother as coach or the Capriatis, or Seles even, someone with some street cred who he’d listen to, hopefully. The big stars – Mac, Sampras, etc – Harrison and Roddick LOST to Sampras and Mac in the exhibition. That should send a message.

    the great ones focus, big time. They take no quarter and even a exhibition match is a chance to blast the future. Don’t think Mac and Sampras knew what they were doing picking on the younger generation – they knew EXACTLY what they were doing. They go home, talk to their family, say SEE, dad’s still got it. It’s like Agassi said about his match with Blake.

    Yeah, tennis was the winner. But let’s get real about this 2005 U.S. open qf. I won it. You know it.

  • Andrew Miller · September 28, 2014 at 1:31 pm

    Harrison-Kozlov is the perfect match. If I’m Kozlov’s coach, like his Dad, I’m watching Harrison tape right now and figuring out how to put some pressure on him. Kozlov can rally until the cows come home and he’s played Zverev tight. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kozlov plays him close.

    If I’m Harrison, I better ride my serve to the win and close Kozlov out fast. Send a message that in order to be the future you have to win your first round challenger match in no name towns.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 28, 2014 at 1:43 pm

    Andrew is the official tennis-prose historian, good find on those old quotes about Harrison at US Open qualies 🙂 Maybe his head got big after that and he expected it would be so much easier. I think Kozlov is going to beat him. Kozlov is actually better than Donaldson, though a year younger. Going to be such a fascinating match. I will as Kozlov’s dad if they have ever practiced or played sets against each other.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 28, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    Yes, Kozlov and Harrison did play a practice set in Boca five mths ago. And it was not the result you would expect for the more experienced American. (not going to post the scoreline, sorry.) BTW, Kozlov has a WC for Valencia event in October. And if Stefan wins ITF Tulsa event he will be ITF number one ranked junior.

  • Andrew Miller · September 28, 2014 at 2:04 pm

    Smyczek beating Qball would be a big win, but not surprising for Smyczek – he’s beaten higher ranked players this year (and lost to lower ones too). Smy might get his career high ranking by years end, break the top 70 and smooth sailing into Australia, no questions asked.

    But no one holds up Smyczek as an example of anything! Maybe they should though – he has been a young-gun smasher . Takes out Kyrgios in Memphis. Beats Donaldson yesterday. Beats Rubin in 2013. Generally had superior year to Klahn, who could hardly buy a match on the ATP after getting to the #2 U.S. position.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 28, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    If Smyczek beats Q Ball I would be shocked. Q Ball does everything better than Tim, bigger stronger etc. It’s a bad match up for Tim. Q Ball will just dissect Tim like he always beats Russell who he also beat in Napa 30 ret. If Q blows this one, it’s a very bad loss. But Tim is known for being a guy who doesn’t pay attention to what the stats and papers say, matches are won on the court not on paper.

  • Andrew Miller · September 28, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    Not going to put Kozlov in any winner’s circle yet but he seems to have less media on purpose, kind of like Sampras with Sampras’ dad and Fischer. Here’s some excerpts but today’s players need to remember – this is how it’s done.

    Sports Illustrated, 1997

    “Fischer farmed him out to Southern California tennis gurus–Robert Lansdorp for his forehand, Del Little for his footwork and Larry Easley for his volley. While other kids were stampeding to buy the latest tennis technology, Fischer insisted that Pete stay with a less forgiving wooden racket until he was 13, to help him develop perfect strokes”

    “Early in his career, just getting by was fine with Sampras. At the beginning of 1992 he was ranked sixth in the world and happy about it. Then he lost the U.S. Open final to Stefan Edberg and was stunned by how horrible that felt; for months afterward he found himself kicking off blankets, replaying points. Even today he upbraids himself for not having 10 major titles. Since then, with the guidance of Gullikson and now Annacone, Sampras has worked to plug every hole in his game: spotty ground strokes, a predictable backhand, halfhearted volleys and, now, conditioning. Pushed, especially by Agassi, two years ago, Sampras became smarter at working points, less dependent on his serve. He has added a dependable slice backhand and shored up his service return. He has no weaknesses. “That’s the sign of a champion: Each year you fill another chink in the armor,” says McEnroe. “He may not have as much ability as a couple of guys [in the past]–and I say only a couple–and he may not be as fit as others, but he has both. It’s very rare. He has almost all the shots, and he’s worked hard. He’s capable of doing anything.”

    “He has come a long way from his “bag of bricks” days. Even
    Connors admits it. “What I like is that he’s prepared to play
    day after day after day,” Connors says. “I would like to see him have stiffer competition. He doesn’t have Borg, Connors,
    McEnroe, Lendl–three, possibly four, of the greatest playing at the same time. But what I like about him is that he doesn’t care who he plays. He still goes out and performs.”

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 28, 2014 at 7:51 pm

    There are different schools of thought. Young players are better with a variety of voices and influences, as shown above by Pete Sampras. And other examples like Federer, Williams, Rusedski. Or you go the one man route like Uncle Toni and Monica Seles and Guga Kuerten. Either ways are shown to work.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 29, 2014 at 8:05 am

    Kind of a questionable decision by Q Ball to not play the Asian circuit when Sock, DY and Steve Jo all are. I mean it’s nice that Sam won the first Cali Challenger, but who did he beat, Smyczek was his stiffest opponent and he’s ranked #99.

    Sock beats Dolgo in Japan, but Dolgo’s got to be very rusty. Still nice win for Sock after the US Open disappointment.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 29, 2014 at 9:04 am

    Actually Ymer gave Sam his toughest test in Napa, 3 sets, Tim went down meekly in final in straight sets. I think it’s a good call by Q Ball, he’ll get some wins under his belt. Not sure if he likes Asia after what happened to him there with the glass cut a few years ago. Cali is his home state so it’s a short travel route. Could be a smart move by Sam, get his ranking up and a much needed winning streak – assuming he wins this week in Sacramento too.

  • Andrew Miller · September 29, 2014 at 11:36 am

    TP might need an Asian ringer. Seems most of the season is there now! October – January.
    Some results:
    Nishikori beats Benneateau, wins Malaysian Open (nice)
    Murray beats Robredo to win Shenzen/China.
    Estrella downs Souza (not the Portuguese Sousa) to win a challenger.
    An aussie named Kubler wins a Romanian challenger.
    Stathovsky downs Bellucci to win a challenger. Both guys seem like they’re doing fine on the comeback trail.
    Belocq beats Schwartzmann to win a challenger.

    Other notable:

    Safarova beats Giorgi in straights. I love Safarova’s game – lefty, hits through the court – plays like Bellucci did when he gave Stan Wawrinka a fight. Is there anything better, really, than a lefty showing what lefties can do on the court? On the other hand – Giorgi really is, to paraphrase Dan, an Agassi like player, who unfortunately still has an Oceans 11 stigma to her (who knows how that ended – whatever it is it’s gotten a much lower profile, maybe she’s settling it privately). Giorgi has the Baghdatis quality – as in you see stuff and say did I really see that? But because, like Bag, she does not win much you never see her.

    Cornet beats Jankovic in China. I think Alize Cornet gets the most improved in the WTA. Between her and Safarova, really has anyone improved as much?

    Steve Johnson beats Moriya in Japan.

    Sock beating Dolgo IS a nice win. Pocket that.

    Can DY beat Soeda? I’d think DY is a little rusty, let’s see if he can win a routine match.

    Anderson over Thiem, close. Anderson is like Lucy Safarova, steady just underneath the big time players.

    Mueller, Gilles wins, nice to see that. Another excellent lefty game. Why Mueller never got up there, just won’t get it. I remember the commercials with Andy Roddick and how Mueller beat him in what, 2005? Nice to see him back.

    Pops over Rosol. Both Pops AND Sock are doing well. This lends more heft to Scoop’s theory that doubles success can turn into singles success. Same thing happenned for Roger Federer and Wawrinka post Olympics in China, 08.

    In Sacramento – would say the Altamarino-Kudla match is equal to the Kozlov-Harrison match. Must win for Kudla.

    But the best match has to be McGee/Ginepri. That should be a barn-burner.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 29, 2014 at 11:42 am

    No way, for pure drama, Andrew, Harry-Kozlov is a must-see. Ginepri doesn’t have much left in the tank. Kudla-Altamarino, I wouldn’t walk around the block to see that match.

    Sock has to do more than just beat up on Dolgo who hasn’t played in a long while. Sock pulling out of that first US Open match against Andujar and then playing doubles either the next or the day after that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 29, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    This guy Sousa has 32 match wins this year, third most on the tour. According to ATP site today. Wow. Talk about an unknown player doing very well.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 29, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    Pertty sure it was the next day Dan. Johnson played doubles next day too. That was odd.

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