The Caja Magica who breathes life into the tennis of yesterday

Some of the fans rubbed incredulously on Tuesday in Manolo Santana Stadium. Two top -20 players played for a ticket for the Mutua Madrid Open quarter -finals. Nothing unusual. The surprising thing about the encounter, however, was that both men, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, are currently the greatest representatives of a shot that is seriously threatened with extinction: the one -handed backhand.

Musetti took the prey (7-5, 7-6 in almost two hours) in a match that went back to the 20th century. In today’s game there are hardly any players who choose to meet their backhand with just one hand in the racket. In fact, Musetti and Tsitsipas are the only two players among the top 20 who use the shot. The other 18 all use a two -handed.

The contrast is strong when we look into the past. When the ATP published its first ranking in 1973, nine of the ten best players hit their backhand with one hand. However, only a few remains of these tactical, serving and volley shape of the tennis. Over the decades and when the sports industry has developed – both in terms of technology and fitness – tennis has become a much more physical discipline and the ball is getting tougher. The modern player is strong, with long arms, with a thundering serve, a scary forehand … and almost always a two -handed backhand.

“Aesthetically and stylistically speaking, the backhand is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful shots that exist. But in today’s tennis, which is becoming increasingly powerful, there is no one-hand back hand that can challenge a decent two-handed back hand in relation to return and ease of execution,” said Musetti, the current ATP world, which was a few months ago. “It is to be expected that it becomes less common, since the ball speeds have risen so much since the 80s and 90s if there were more chances of rallies and variants such as performance volleying.”

Musetti is so convinced that the one -handed backhand has no future that he even said that he would always recommend teaching children with two hands. However, Tsitsipas is more of a champion of the shot that may best define his game and was busy with two of the best players at the past. Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka.

“It is a difficult attitude for masters and perfect. The players tend to choose the two-hand back hand because it is easy because it is less complicated to learn,” said the Greek. “I have the feeling that the one -handed backhand is the most beautiful shot in the tennis and the most difficult to learn. In addition, it can be a great weapon in clay places where the ball jumps a lot. So I think it is an attractive shot that, if you are really perfect, be a fatal weapon for those who can feel confident with it.”

The reaction of a champion

The all two -handed backhand struggle in the Manolo Santana Stadium was a one -sided encounter in the early exchange. Tsitsipas, a finalist on Madrid Clay in 2019, flew out of the blocks to take a 5-2 lead in the first set. He even had a setpoint on the return, but Musetti neutralized him before he came together to seal the first step of his comeback.

“It was my first time in Manolo Santana Stadium and it feels quite different from the other dishes. At first it found it difficult to find my rhythm and ball because it jumps more in this dish and found it difficult,” said Musetti in his lead interview.

“But I managed to stay tuned. I was patient and that gives myself confidence. At the moment I don’t want to talk about the ranking list, I just want to have a great tournament and always win games to build my self -confidence,” added the Italian, who is now temporarily in the top 10 top 10. His next opponent. 7-6 (7-3).