Has the clay at Roland Garros been changed to a faster clay in 2008?

Question

I wanted to know if the clay has been changed to make it faster this year at roland garros because ive herd people talking about it?

Answer 1

No. The courts are exatly the same as they have been in years past. Just like hardcourts, claycourts are not all created equally. The French Open uses courts made up of crushed red brick which simulates natural red clay. They have always played relatively fast (for clay) compared to other tournaments that use "true red clay" (ie: Rome, Hamburg) which is actually much slower. Some claycourt tournaments held in the US are played on natural red clay, but since that is very rare (depending on your region) most claycourt tournaments in the states have used "green clay" which also is not true clay but actually crushed "Har Tru" stone which simulates the play of natural red clay. That type of clay is actually even faster than the French Open.

But ultimatly even the "fastest" clay is still going to be slower than the slowest hardcourts. The French Open "clay" courts are still considered to be "slow" compared to hardcourts and certainly grass, and the speed of the court changes with the weather (depending on how hot or dry the courts are and the moisture in the air).

Answer 2

I dont know maybe one or two of them but i think they slow down as the tournament goes on anyway.

Answer 3

i think no.. i watched matches from day 1 and 2.. its still the same, thats what i think

Answer 4

yeah.

Answer 5

yeah they were supposed to be doing this. I watched the first match yesterday morning with Ivanovic and the ball appeared to be flying across the court. But the other matches I saw later in the day seemed like the ball started to slow down. So it could've been that particular court they were on or I was just sleepy since it was 5am.

It would be great if I could just go to Paris to watch the tourney and matches start at 11am instead of 5am  :-)

Answer 6

yes, and they slowed down Wimby as well.