[sexybeast]

It lacks all kind of power to dictate rallies, he sometimes can set up a good approach shot but it really is incredible how much it has declined. I would rank it below Nadal's declined FH.

So we have in top 10 players with obviously better FHs:

Djokovic, Wawrinka, Nadal

The rest are up for debate, how does Federer's current FH rank in top 10?

 

[blackwell]

Good question. The worst in the top-10 along with Murray and Nishikori :sad:

 

[TooBadFed]

near the bottom half

 

[lazybear]

I don't think it's that bad, it just seems drastic because of the drop off. That was the best shot in tennis history during his peak.

 

[Fedman]

The problem is that it's too inconsistent. He can still hit some really good FHs but he can also miss some easy sitters. I feel that it's better than it was last year but it's still not as good as it was with the previous racket. I think he should have made the racket change much earlier.

 

[Logos]

It's much better than Nadal's atm. Raonic, Stan and Novak only have a better FH. Not too shaby for a 34 year old.

 

[sexybeast]

It's much better than Nadal's atm. Raonic, Stan and Novak only have a better FH. Not too shaby for a 34 year old.

Nadal's still can dictate rallies outside of grass (where I believe he cant get down on his knees like he used to).

You still fear retribution from Nadal if you dont get good length on the return. Federer cant hit winners with his FH against players with good defense, he can only set up approach shots.

 

[Federer-Fan]

It's much better than Nadal's atm. Raonic, Stan and Novak only have a better FH. Not too shaby for a 34 year old.

Federer has a much better forehand than Raonic, the latter's FH is efficient only when he has a lot of time to hit it.

 

[Murray Mint]

Yeah, this stuff about Raonic's forehand has got to stop.

 

[TooBadFed]

I don't think it's that bad, it just seems drastic because of the drop off. That was the best shot in tennis history during his peak.

good point, but its sad to see

 

[TigerTim]

better than some of the UE machines also in the top 10

 

[Litotes]

Difficult to say. Since he's ranked #2 by some margin he's obviously doing something better than the majority. There is serve, of course, but he's still 5th of the top-10 guys in % of return games won so that's not the whole explanation. Are we talking potential or consistency? Ranking Wawrinka clearly ahead leads me to think the former. After all, Wawa wins less % of return games and has a fairly good backhand....