|
 It is very difficult to become a clay court champion unless you are brought up and developed as a young player on red clay. The last champion of Roland Garros who was not a child of clay was Andre Agassi. The key components for clay court excellence are:
Movement - All great players on clay are well balanced and get behind the ball well. When they slide they have tremendous strength in both their legs and core so they can hold wide positions without collapsing and generate pace from these wide positions. Patience - Points are longer so waiting for the right ball to attack is crucial and the ability to recognise good defence and begin working a point all over again when your initial attack is foiled takes nerve and patience. Focus - Working long points over and over again, deciding when to attack and when to regroup takes sustained concentration as a loss in focus leads to an increase in unforced errors which is the death of any player on clay. Physical fitness - To sustain the focus and patience and to move well takes enormous physical reserves. Strategy - Clay is the surface of chess. Angles, dropshots, height and spin all have greater prominence on clay with the inside out and inside in forehands key tools in this battle (forehands played from the backhand side of the court). This feel of strategy is probably the element that counts the most as far as experience on clay goes, which is why growing up on clay has a distinct advantage.
The greatest clay courters of all time are the likes of Borg, Vilas, Wilander, Lendl and naturally Nadal, all exceptional movers with Nadal and Borg the best of all. Both use(d) high topspin off their forehands to push opponents back and off the court creating huge spin so the ball jumps up and forward off the court. All the greats have a steely concentration, an ability to work point after point, suffocating opponents with the volume of quality and giving away few free points. As soon as their opponents miss a few they open up a lead that requires greater risk to be taken to close the gap which usually leads to further mistakes. (See Nadal article for greater detail) There is also no doubt that Borg and Nadal are physically the best of their era, with Nadal taking strength and power to a new level.
Playing clay in the modern era has changed. It is certainly faster and more all court with players using the drive volley and some coming to the net. All players look to penetrate from the midcourt and out and out defenders who run and loop the ball no longer exist. Defence has become far more aggressive. Having said all this it is still slower than a hard court and points are longer. Serving flat and hard is not overly effective on clay and although free points can be won by serving well, even Sampras could not serve anyone off the court on clay. The kicker is an excellent weapon to begin the point with an advantage since it is difficult for returners to stand in and consistently take on a 2nd serve before it rises like they can on hard. Overall clay is great fun and harder work than hard and good clay courters adjust better to hard than the other way round.
|
Comments