It’s the lush green lawn combined with balmy summer mornings that make it the perfect blend for tennis players. The All England Tennis club is considered a favourite of many a tennis player, with playing on centre court at Wimbledon . The advent of lawn tennis began in England and it has now become the mecca for grass court tennis.
All the world’s top players want to be centre stage at Wimbledon , which is considered to be the most prestigious event on the tennis circuit, but that is not to take away from the other grass courts in England. So while Wimbledon may be the most popular grass court arena, it is actually the Queen’s club, which has the perfect blend of moisture and richness to make it the ideal lawn surface.
The most probable reason for this observations could be that Wimbledon has had to suffer wear and tear at the hands of long grueling tennis matches that have the possibility of going on for endless hours. The lawn surfaces have had to suffer at the hands of players battling it out to achieve greatness on grass.
Looking back in history to when lawn tennis began, it was the slow pace of the game played with a wooden racquet that preserved the suppleness of the surface. But with the advent of new tools that players use to launch their attack has significantly changed the face of the lawn surface. The upgradation of the racquets over the years, help players to wield more power with their forehands and backhands and aids them in prolonging the game even further. The constant badgering leaves the surface worn and torn. As a result, the surface has also had to adapt to the changing nature of the game, leaving it bouncier and faster.
The lawn surface poses a great challenge to the players on the tennis circuit. Many of the greats of the game who have achieved success on other courts may not have necessarily have the same success rate on grass. It is a completely new strategy that needs to be employed to play on grass, The reason being that the moisture of that is given off by the underlying soil helps any shot that is played to zip across the court with a low bounce. The speciality about the grass court is a shot that is played on any other surface as a defence mechanism, can actually be ammunition to launch an attack against any bitter rival. One such shot is the slice, which on normal courts players use to play on the back foot from the baseline. But on grass, it helps a player get the upper hand due to the low bounce, which acts as a lethal weapon.
The game plan on grass is very different to other courts as well. Those players who have a big serve, combined with volleying skills are the ones who have mastered the art of grass court tennis. A wide serve opens the court, setting up the right moment for a smashing volley. Grass court greats such as Martina Navratilova, Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe and more recently Roger Federer all play with the above mentioned style. Thus their tactical success can be measured by their winning statistics on grass. It is now evident enough that players can be victorious on grass if they incorporate serving and volleying in their game. Those that are avid baseliners have a tough time settling in a grass court tournament.
It is not just the attributes of a lawn surface that the players have to adapt too, but they also have to manoeuvre their body movements due to the moisture on the surface. Thus, it is essential for players to be soft on their feet to help them grip the surface better.
With Wimbledon fast approaching, it has to be seen which players have actually changed their games after coming off the red dirt surface. The ones who have will be the ones with the greater chance of progressing in the prestigious grand slam tournament in the lawn capital of the world.
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