THE GUY BOUNCES, THE BALL ROLLS OUT FLAT: RAMY ASHOUR vs. GREGORY GAULTIER

Ramy Ashour is probably the only player on a constant basis who after a not perfectly executed volley nick attempt is not shy to go for a second one straight afterwards, and often with success. This one is even more special as he hit it by jumping very high and slightly from behind his body. 

You might say: genius, and that you can not teach this. I however will keep saying that if you force your players to stay on court for solo "angle-sessions" - feeding themselves all around the court, different angles, different heights, with aiming to put the ball each time into the nick, drop or smash - they will end up feeling the kind of geometry that is needed to find the right lines at the right times. I do not deny Ramy's genius, but be assured, he has spent more time doing these kind of solo sessions than anyone else in the world.
The other thing to note is how extremely Ramy bounces to prepare for his split-steps. You probably remember our post about the split-step, but to be honest I wouldn't recommend to many people to try to implement this boxer-kind of movement as it is very very demanding. It's part of Ramy's genius that his stamina is capable to deal with  such a high rate cardiac investment, but for more ordinary people it is also possible to have an excellent split-step in a much more economical mode (best examples probably would be Gregory Gaultier, Peter Barker or Karim Darwish for this version).

But there is another reason to today's post; does anybody remember, or even better: posses on video a similar shot, just executed in even more extreme conditions by Jonathon Power? He did it against Peter Nicol, but from the very back of the court, jumping even higher, and if I remember well, he has even climbed on the side-wall to reach Nicol's lob. I don't know where and when I saw that rally, it's been now a few years that I desperately try to find it on Youtube, with no success. Anyone has got good news for me?

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SPLIT STEP: RAMY ASHOUR and PETER NICOL

I might exaggerate, but I am almost convinced that within movement one of the most important things is how you master the split step. It is your very first reaction before starting to go towards the ball and it will determine the explosiveness of your movement. 

The split step is simple and complex at the same time. Simple, as you just need to jump up slightly with both feet before heading off towards the ball. Complex, as it needs delicate timing in order to avoid to land too early or too late.

What is the main point about the split step? It will allow you to put the weight as quickly as possible on the relevant foot before making your first step. You jump off with both feet from the ordinary parallel position as you wait on the 'T', but you will land with one or the other foot in front of the other, depending where the ball was hit by your opponent. 

Let's put it in order: 1) you have to jump just before your opponent hits the ball - this is the most delicate thing, to time the detachment from the ground well. 2) you want to be with both feet still in the air when you perceive/understand where your opponent has hit the ball. 3) depending on where the ball goes, you will land with your feet and weight accordingly.  

Peter Nicol has always been extremely agile, but nobody employs the split step more intensively than Ramy Ashour; combined with his phenomenal reading of the game, this is what makes him so damn quick. After having watched the below video, you might want to have a further look on this one, showing Ramy in extreme slow motion with another legend, Jonathon Power.