For all the talk of the "homogenization" of tennis surfaces (cough..cough...cough...FEDERER fans..cough..cough..cough...) it certainly seems that it only translates one way, dirtballers from South America and Europe seem to improve and even flourish on HC, achieving tangible success. Whereas, North Americans , namely Americans and Canadians still struggle making the transition to red clay.
You have to go back to the Andre Agassi, MIchael Chang and Jim Courier era (when supposedly the red clay was even slower ) to see North Americans who "got" red claycourt tennis.