Why has Federer managed to win 8 Wimbledon titles but only one French Open?How has it been that Rafael Nadal has been beaten only thrice in clay court but still lesser grand slams than Federer?Surely the surfaces in tennis play a key role in the performance of players.This blog will answer this question.
Roger Federer the most successful all-time tennis player has recently hinted that he would be backing out from the French Open for the second consecutive time.This surely poses a question as to what is there in clay court that he is backing out.What is there in grass court that he is almost unbeatable.There are primarily three different types of surfaces in tennis hard court, clay court and grass court.Out of these hard courts are most common and nearly 70% of tennis tournaments are played on hard courts.Out of the four grand slams Australian Open and U.S Open are played on hard courts while French Open and Wimbledon are played on clay and grass courts respectively.Let's look at these surfaces one by one and explore why Djokovic is so good on hard courts and why Federer and Nadal are exceptional at grass and clay courts respectively.
1.Clay court
When the ball strikes the loose surface of the clay it digs in thereby decreasing the speed of the ball and increasing the bouncing.Hence a player gets more time to react to a stroke.This also means that a player needs to play more shots to win a rally.Hence to be a good clay court players one needs to have all aspects good, be it forehand or backhand.To master clay courts a player needs to have good stamina and ability to play long rallies.Apart from this, he needs to have great physical strength because all matches are played in the scorching heat.No player in the tennis circuit posses all the above qualities better than Rafael Nadal and that is the reason he is the most successful on clay.
According to stats, only 61.5% of points are won on clay, which is very low because service is considered a big advantage in tennis.
2.Hardcourt
Unlike clay court when a ball strikes the hard court it does not dig the court rather it bounces back and increases the bounce of the ball.The ball travels very fast on hard courts.Hence to succeed on hard courts a player should have a good serve and groundstrokes.Apart from this the player also needs to have great flexibility and fitness.That is the reason why Novak Djokovic is so successful on hard courts.His flexibility and fitness are unmatchable.Also, that is the reason why Djokovic is also called the Nadal of hard courts.With fast nature, the hard courts also bring injury concerns.A lot of matches get abandoned on hard courts due to injury problems.
3.Grass court
Grass courts behave a little differently than other courts.When the ball strikes the surface of grass, it faces very less friction and tends to move faster.This makes the ball to slip on the surface.Hence the players have to bend a little low to play their shots.The rallies on grass courts are very short and quick.Hence the key is to have good accurate strokes and making lesser unforced errors.Due to the slipping nature, the players also prevent the ball to bounce and prefer to play serve and volley game.
Earlier the whole game was dominated by a big serve and a volley.But over the years the style has changed and now groundstrokes have also become equally important.This is the reason why Federer has succeeded so much in grass courts because he has a good service and a large variety of strokes.His backhand slice is very lethal on this surface as volley can't be played on this shot and also the ball skids faster after striking the surface.
Though the surfaces matter a lot, any player can master any surface by working hard.Readers might have also got the answer as to why Federer is planning to skip the French Open because it is the most physically demanding surface and at this age, he might face injury problems and miss out on his favorite Wimbledon Championships.
Roger Federer the most successful all-time tennis player has recently hinted that he would be backing out from the French Open for the second consecutive time.This surely poses a question as to what is there in clay court that he is backing out.What is there in grass court that he is almost unbeatable.There are primarily three different types of surfaces in tennis hard court, clay court and grass court.Out of these hard courts are most common and nearly 70% of tennis tournaments are played on hard courts.Out of the four grand slams Australian Open and U.S Open are played on hard courts while French Open and Wimbledon are played on clay and grass courts respectively.Let's look at these surfaces one by one and explore why Djokovic is so good on hard courts and why Federer and Nadal are exceptional at grass and clay courts respectively.
1.Clay court
When the ball strikes the loose surface of the clay it digs in thereby decreasing the speed of the ball and increasing the bouncing.Hence a player gets more time to react to a stroke.This also means that a player needs to play more shots to win a rally.Hence to be a good clay court players one needs to have all aspects good, be it forehand or backhand.To master clay courts a player needs to have good stamina and ability to play long rallies.Apart from this, he needs to have great physical strength because all matches are played in the scorching heat.No player in the tennis circuit posses all the above qualities better than Rafael Nadal and that is the reason he is the most successful on clay.
According to stats, only 61.5% of points are won on clay, which is very low because service is considered a big advantage in tennis.
2.Hardcourt
Unlike clay court when a ball strikes the hard court it does not dig the court rather it bounces back and increases the bounce of the ball.The ball travels very fast on hard courts.Hence to succeed on hard courts a player should have a good serve and groundstrokes.Apart from this the player also needs to have great flexibility and fitness.That is the reason why Novak Djokovic is so successful on hard courts.His flexibility and fitness are unmatchable.Also, that is the reason why Djokovic is also called the Nadal of hard courts.With fast nature, the hard courts also bring injury concerns.A lot of matches get abandoned on hard courts due to injury problems.
3.Grass court
Grass courts behave a little differently than other courts.When the ball strikes the surface of grass, it faces very less friction and tends to move faster.This makes the ball to slip on the surface.Hence the players have to bend a little low to play their shots.The rallies on grass courts are very short and quick.Hence the key is to have good accurate strokes and making lesser unforced errors.Due to the slipping nature, the players also prevent the ball to bounce and prefer to play serve and volley game.
Earlier the whole game was dominated by a big serve and a volley.But over the years the style has changed and now groundstrokes have also become equally important.This is the reason why Federer has succeeded so much in grass courts because he has a good service and a large variety of strokes.His backhand slice is very lethal on this surface as volley can't be played on this shot and also the ball skids faster after striking the surface.
Though the surfaces matter a lot, any player can master any surface by working hard.Readers might have also got the answer as to why Federer is planning to skip the French Open because it is the most physically demanding surface and at this age, he might face injury problems and miss out on his favorite Wimbledon Championships.
Federer still hasn't won 9 Wimbledon titles. There is an error in the article.
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