Aussie Open 2014: Ball and Courts faster...

[GameSetAndMath]

Nadal in trouble. The balls are having low bounce in Australian Courts.
This is a direct report by JMDP from Sydney. Note that in Australia they have
the practice of having all the courts at uniform level. With a low bounce,
Nadal's top spin shots would not bother his opponents as much as it would
with a high bounce.

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/01/del-potro-sydney-hard-courts-playing-grass/50184/#.UtBs92B3uM8

Another indication that courts are fast is that the grass court players like
Pironkova and Turosonova are doing well.

 

[Kieran]

Nadal in trouble. The balls are having low bounce in Australian Courts.
This is a direct report by JMDP from Sydney. Note that in Australia they have
the practice of having all the courts at uniform level. With a low bounce,
Nadal's top spin shots would not bother his opponents as much as it would
with a high bounce.

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/01/del-potro-sydney-hard-courts-playing-grass/50184/#.UtBs92B3uM8

Another indication that courts are fast is that the grass court players like
Pironkova and Turosonova are doing well.

Del Potro is referring to the tournament in Sydney. He doesn't know how they'll play in Melbourne:

"Hopefully for Melbourne the courts and balls are slower to play long rallies, to feel the ball like I want. If not, I will have a couple days before start to change my mind and try to play the best tennis I can.”

 

[Denis]

Interesting! I can't say that I am not delighted to hear that. I hope it's true.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

faster courts at the AO ?..Lets see if its true (hope so).

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Nadal in trouble. The balls are having low bounce in Australian Courts.
This is a direct report by JMDP from Sydney. Note that in Australia they have
the practice of having all the courts at uniform level. With a low bounce,
Nadal's top spin shots would not bother his opponents as much as it would
with a high bounce.

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/01/del-potro-sydney-hard-courts-playing-grass/50184/#.UtBs92B3uM8

Another indication that courts are fast is that the grass court players like
Pironkova and Turosonova are doing well.

Del Potro is referring to the tournament in Sydney. He doesn't know how they'll play in Melbourne:

"Hopefully for Melbourne the courts and balls are slower to play long rallies, to feel the ball like I want. If not, I will have a couple days before start to change my mind and try to play the best tennis I can.”

In Australia they have an explicitly stated policy of trying to make all warm-up courts behave
the same way as AO as I mentioned in my OP.

 

[Kieran]

You might tell del Potro then...

 

[Front242]

Del Potro is in full clown mode to start the season anyway playing so close to the AO.

 

[Denis]

Del Potro is in full clown mode to start the season anyway playing so close to the AO.

"Full clown mode" :snigger

 

[brokenshoelace]

Nadal in trouble.

A bit over-dramatic...

 

[brokenshoelace]

Remember what I said about my least favorite discussion being speculation about how fast/slow the surface would be playing, and all the conflicting reports? Yeah...

 

[Moxie]

Del Potro is in full clown mode to start the season anyway playing so close to the AO.

"Full clown mode" :snigger

So many people questioned that. He chose to come very late to Australia, and spoke openly about his jet lag. Now he's in a final against Tomic. It's no coincidence that Denisovich and Front are calling him a "clown." He's in Rafa's quarter, and Tomic is Nadal's first round, just to make it that more irritating. I think Tomic may be affected, as if that would matter, but Del Potro may have time to recover. He doesn't face anyone tricky until likely Raonic or Dimitrov at the end of the first week.

 

[huntingyou]

Irrelevant!

It's an outdoor HC that operates at the medium pace-high bounce level..........they can move the speed and the bounce within that range as much as they like but chances are the finalist will be the top 2 seeds. I actually prefer a faster court for Rafa if he is going to defeat Novak here, it would give his forehand more mileage instead of hitting 5 would be winners just to see them coming back with interest. That's why Rafa it's a better player at the UO than the AO......his forehand goes through the court easier when he is in offensive mode.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Nadal in trouble.

A bit over-dramatic...

I agree. The correct way of expressing is "Nadal's opponents are in less trouble"
(which is what I did in the body of the message). The opening line is a teaser to make
you read.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Irrelevant!

It's an outdoor HC that operates at the medium pace-high bounce level..........they can move the speed and the bounce within that range as much as they like but chances are the finalist will be the top 2 seeds. I actually prefer a faster court for Rafa if he is going to defeat Novak here, it would give his forehand more mileage instead of hitting 5 would be winners just to see them coming back with interest. That's why Rafa it's a better player at the UO than the AO......his forehand goes through the court easier when he is in offensive mode.

Couldn't agree more. I've argued and argued, for years now, including one recent thread with a certain poster here, about how misunderstood the whole surface thing is, especially vis-a-vis Nadal. The slower the hard court, the LESS I would give Nadal a chance against Djokovic, unless maybe it's a super high bouncing surface like Indian Wells. But yeah, watching their 2012 final, Nadal had to absolutely CRUSH his inside out forehand to be able to hit through Djokovic. He had to hit the ball huge, and even then, Novak was running them down, counter-punching, turning defense into attack, etc... things that he can't do as easily at the US Open. Most importantly, Nadal can actually gain some cheap points on serve on faster surfaces against Novak.

Of course, the flip-side is on faster court, if Novak is in the zone and playing aggressive, he'll be ending points quicker against Nadal and Rafa risks being blown out (ie the first two sets of their 2011 US Open final). But yeah, if Novak is not in full unplayable mode, I prefer Nadal's chances against him at the US Open.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

There is not one person that %100 benefits from one surface both offensively and defensively, in my opinion, except Nadal on clay, and Roger on fast hards and grass when he was at his peak.

 

[brokenshoelace]

There is not one person that %100 benefits from one surface both offensively and defensively, in my opinion, except Nadal on clay, and Roger on fast hards and grass when he was at his peak.

I agree. There's always a trade-off. However, the question is, which aspect (offense or defense) is more important in a particular match-up? For example, for Nadal, against Djokovic on hards, offense is more important, because he's not winning the match with his defense. Not on hards, not against someone like Novak. So sacrificing that extra split second that allows him to get back in the point is worth it, because what he's getting instead is the ability to gain cheap points on serve, hit through the court, etc...

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Del Potro is in full clown mode to start the season anyway playing so close to the AO.

Clown mode or not, I like his new gear. I was pretty much fed up with his baggy golf shorts look.

 

[Haelfix]

The balls are more important for Rafa then the courts perse on hard. That's why you see pretty large swings in his hard court resume, even on the same court. It's usually obvious from his first match how far he's going to get in any particular tourney...

Against Novak he definitely would like a little more court speed as it helps his service holds

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Nadal gave a pre-tournament presser today.

Here is one Q and A.

Q. How are you finding the speed of the courts so far? There was a lot of talk they might be faster than in years past.

RAFAEL NADAL: Completely different conditions than what I remembered of this tournament. Faster conditions that I ever played here in Australia.

Well, I really don’t understand very well why they change because the last couple of years, Australian Open had amazing matching, long ones, good ones for the crowd. I don’t know why the people who decide to make the conditions that fast.

I am not sure for the show is the best thing. But they decide and I’m just a player to try to be competitive from the beginning. I am practicing every day as much as I can and with the right intensity, the right attitude.

I arrived one week before. I think that I am practicing better a little bit every day. I hope to adjust my game to these conditions.

 

[Denis]

Irrelevant!

It's an outdoor HC that operates at the medium pace-high bounce level..........they can move the speed and the bounce within that range as much as they like but chances are the finalist will be the top 2 seeds. I actually prefer a faster court for Rafa if he is going to defeat Novak here, it would give his forehand more mileage instead of hitting 5 would be winners just to see them coming back with interest. That's why Rafa it's a better player at the UO than the AO......his forehand goes through the court easier when he is in offensive mode.

Couldn't agree more. I've argued and argued, for years now, including one recent thread with a certain poster here, about how misunderstood the whole surface thing is, especially vis-a-vis Nadal. The slower the hard court, the LESS I would give Nadal a chance against Djokovic, unless maybe it's a super high bouncing surface like Indian Wells. But yeah, watching their 2012 final, Nadal had to absolutely CRUSH his inside out forehand to be able to hit through Djokovic. He had to hit the ball huge, and even then, Novak was running them down, counter-punching, turning defense into attack, etc... things that he can't do as easily at the US Open. Most importantly, Nadal can actually gain some cheap points on serve on faster surfaces against Novak.

Of course, the flip-side is on faster court, if Novak is in the zone and playing aggressive, he'll be ending points quicker against Nadal and Rafa risks being blown out (ie the first two sets of their 2011 US Open final). But yeah, if Novak is not in full unplayable mode, I prefer Nadal's chances against him at the US Open.

The point is not about the speed of the court, but the bounce. GSM, when he wrote that Nadal was in trouble, was referring to the bounce. Low bounce = not good for Nadal.