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Why are their more surprise results on the clay?

By Geoff Nichols

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Why are their more surprise results on the clay?

The 2015 clay court season is still very much in it’s infancy, but we are already seeing more surprise results than on other surfaces. It has been especially noticeable how the seeded players at the recent tournaments have been struggling more than ever.

Despite Novak Djokovic winning the Monte Carlo Masters, there have been a host of surprise results in the last couple of weeks. If recent years are anything to go by, this will continue into the Madrid and Rome Masters that are coming up in May.

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Upsets are usually defined by a lower ranked player beating a higher ranked opponent and this is one of the biggest reasons why this is more common on clay. A higher proportion of a player’s ranking is calculated from events on hard courts, as these events take up the majority of the season.

Therefore, a player might be a Top 20 clay court player but only a Top 50 hard court player. This would lead to their ranking hovering outside of the Top 20 for most of the calendar year, even during the clay court swing where there results will be much better.

This also brings into the discussion the idea of clay court specialists, an attribution given to far more player than that of a hard court or grass court specialist. Whilst the latter does certainly exist, take Nicolas Mahut for example, a much higher proportion of the men’s tour would consider themselves to be natural clay court players.

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It is something that has developed from the formative years where many European and also South American players learn their trade on clay courts. Having grown up on the clay, they are adept at moving on the surface and are also more comfortable with clay court tactics.

You will often hear commentators refer to players are a natural mover on clay, where they know how to time a slide into the ball. On the other hand, top players can struggle to make the transition and are much less natural in their movements, take Andy Murray for an example.

The surface is also slower than a hard court. Success on the clay certainly demands a different skill set and whilst it is clearly the same sports, the difference is a big one. Players who have grown up on the red dirt tend to produce more top spin on their shots, which kicks up higher off the clay.

This combination of factors leads to a greater deal of upsets on the clay, as we tend to see nations like Spain dominant at this time of the year. It doesn’t always guarantee upsets, however, as we have seen one man dominate on the surface for just over a decade.

Next: What can Rafael Nadal achieve on the clay?

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