Why is davydenko weak on grass?

Question

He has been losing in the first round of wimbledon for a couple of years. Just this year he decided to play a clay event just before wimbledon which goes to show his distaste for grass.

Answer 1

The reason his game doesn't work on grass is because grass is designed for people to hit the ball hard. The most successful people on grass (Roddick, Nadal, Federer, Djokovic) are all able to hit groundstrokes at over 100 MPH. As we all know Davy is a really small guy and doesn't have a lot of power. His game is mostly a defensive player and as a result he can't hurt many players with his game.

Answer 2

His timing is screwed up.

Answer 3

He has played tennis on clay in his childhood and he has a very defensieve game and weak groundstrokes which can fly on clay but grass is good for strong strokes that skid a bit and go vey fast. He likes to hita heavy topsin shot which is good for clay but grass will go slower also his footwork is tailor made for clay not the quick grass. Akso fellow russian safin has also shown his dislike in wimbledon but he has made it to the semi this year, but safin smacks the ball hard

Answer 4

He makes up for it by playing a gazillion tournaments so that he can get more points.

Nadal does the same thing. Check out how many tournaments they play.

Answer 5

he is probably too defensive.. and does not play with enough aggression on grass...

Answer 6

He's not the only one who's weak on grass.  Grass tends to favor people with hard serves and a good net game.  Also, there are not that many grass tournaments, and the majority of players did not grow up playing on grass courts.  I would say the majority grew up on clay courts.

Answer 7

Most pros aren't good on every surface. Look at Federer for instant.  He is an awesome player but he is not good on clay courts. All players have their likes their dislikes. Most player, if they like grass, they won't like clay.

Answer 8

not many grass courts in russia and nikolay doesnt like the grass. Infact Wimby is one of his least favorite tournaments