Would Nadal (or Federer) have won Wimbledon back in the 1990's when the surface played much faster?

Question

I always remember grass being the surface for those with huge serves, and good net play. Players like Becker, Sampras, Edberg, Ivanisevic and Rafter come to mind. Baseliners (with the exception of Agassi at times) couldn't come close to the serve & volleyers. Neither Nadal nor Federer serve & volley that much, but have been very successful on grass in today's game.

Answer 1

Actually the surface was changed in 2001 to speed it up.  They changed the type of grass growing on it, so during the 90's it was not much faster than it was in 2008.

Answer 2

i think nadal could handle it because he is very quick on his feet, federer, eeh not so much

Answer 3

For sure Nadal would have struggled. To be fair to Federer, although he doesn't serve and volley a lot these days, he did back in 2001. So if he was playing on the faster courts, he would have served and volleyed more. But Sampras owned Wimbledon in the 90s. Honestly I don't see anyone consistently beating him in those fast courts. Federer has a better all round game, but it matters not if Sampras keeps acing him. Federer's return game is good against a thought-less server like Roddick. But if the guy couldn't even return Nadal's serve on these slow courts, how could he have returned Sampras' serve on the fast courts?

Answer 4

Nadal no.

Federer yes.

Federer is an absolute amazing talent.  He's practically mastered every aspect of the game.  

Nadal is a grinder, with a heavy western grip, so when the ball stays low he has less control.  I would say that he would do well, just because he's an amazing competitor, but if you had a tournametn on the old grass when sampras, edberg, rafter, becker, and even goran were around, as well as federer... i don't think he would stand much of a chance.

Answer 5

Yeah, Rafa would be able to handle it cause he is very quick on his feet and his movement is amazing.  His serve has also improved a lot and is now a weapon :-)

Dunno about Federer though cause he's not as quick :-S

Answer 6

Yeah ofcourse ! Rafa has perfect movement and is very quick on his feet, he can handle anything, oh yeah baby :)!