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French Open: Who will slow centre court benefit?

By Geoff Nichols

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French Open: Who will slow centre court benefit?

A number of players at the French Open have commented on how slow the Philippe Chatrier Court has felt in the opening few days. Whilst the rest of the courts are playing like normal, the top guys have said the conditions are very different on the main show court.

Clay is already the slowest surface on the ATP tour and the speed of the court certainly is a factor when predicting the outcome of Roland Garros. Along with remarks about the slow courts, the low bounce of the ball has also been noted by the likes of Andy Murray.

Slow Courts

The slowest clay event on tour is Monte Carlo, followed by Rome and then Madrid, with Rome also mirroring the altitude at which the French Open is played at. Rafael Nadal has had success on all speeds of clay, but would arguably prefer slightly faster conditions.

Novak Djokovic will have no complaints as there is unlikely to be a player on tour who can hit Djokovic off the court in slow conditions. Roger Federer on the other hand has never won a title in either Monte Carlo or Rome and would also prefer sharper conditions.

It might seem ideal for Andy Murray, but down the years he has also tended towards liking faster surfaces as his game has become more attacking. Offensive players in general will have to take more risks on a slower court, which tends to be a bad thing.

Low Bounce

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If the low bounce experienced by some players is to continue over the two weeks, there are a couple of implications. Firstly, it will be difficult for the taller players on tour, who already have longer to travel in a downward direction for shots nearer their toes.

It will also have a potentially harmful effect on players who are fatigued, either coming into a match or during the course of one. Players need to get their legs involved more when the ball is staying low and tiredness will make this more difficult.

Finally, the low bounce could benefit players who play with a lot of slice and variety. Clay has always been as surface where keeping the ball low can be a legitimate tactic. So long as the slice has enough bite to avoid the ball sitting up in the hitting zone of an opponent, a mid court slice could work wonders on centre court and it is a shot all of the top guys execute very well indeed.

Next: What can Rafael Nadal achieve on the clay?

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