Aleksandar Karakasevic
Discussion
Johan B Asked 8 years ago
Hey guys,
Please explain who this guy is! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKijyhKo7bk
Why does ZJK have such probems with him? He must be doing some things right to keep his opponents so out of balance. His variation of return is superb.
It looks like he has some kind of special grip as well...
Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago
Hi Johan,
Yes he is an incredible player. He has been ranked as high as 32 in the world in 2006. He is now 41 years old but as you can see in this video he has an incredible wrist and unbelievable touch. He utilises the wrist to vary the placement and makes it difficult for his opponents to tell where he is going with the ball.
He has played World Championships since 1995. He has played 4 Olympics as well. He reached the quarter finals of the World Doubles championships twice. As a leftie he is a valuable part of any doubles combination.
Thoughts on this question
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Johan B Posted 8 years ago
Ah, so an old star!
Yes, his wrist action is really impressive. I'll definitely be watching him some more to inspire my return of serve! (for more long distance strokes it seems like a bit risky to emulate too much)
Regarding the grip, it looks like his index finger is almost under the paddle rather than along the bottom of the rubber. I bet that helps his wrist fluency, but it might inhibit his power, especially on the forehand
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 8 years ago
He can have up and down results because of the high risk style.
Johan B Posted 8 years ago
I bet. The difficulty level must increase a lot of faster balls
Ilia Minkin Posted 8 years ago
Karakasevic is a tough guy. Check out this match and celebration at the end!
Johan B Posted 8 years ago
Thanks Ilia, that was great!
Tonino Tonio Posted 8 years ago
I just cant believe how he easily reads opponents services and take exact appropriate action to answer it, effortlessly... I really would like to have this way to easing off each stroke and especially service return...What is the key to do that?
Mike Deubig Posted 8 years ago
It reminded me of what Jorgen Persson said in a podcast recently, your not going to beat the Chinese on speed, rather other aspects such as placement. At 41 years old and a few pounds heavier, there would be no way that he could win against ZJK on speed. But his great ability to place the ball in various spots exposing weaker shots he had a chance :)
Johan B Posted 8 years ago
Tonino, do hours of receiving practice :-) Once you're really good at reading spin, you can in theory do anything with the ball, given enough racket head speed
Marcin Lonak Posted 7 years ago
I think, as Alois says, he is quite Waldnerish in style. Just not so great. I think he is lot weaker than Waldner in footwork, anticipation and especially keeping feelings in check.
Johan B Posted 7 years ago
Haha, yes, I've almost never seen a video where he isn't angry for at least a little while.