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Nicolas Mahut: Could the Frenchman Have Been a Top-10 Player 15 Years Ago?
Published: September 20, 2013
The French veteran has won the first two singles titles of his career this season and is playing well at this week's ATP World Tour event in Metz, France.
Those tournament victories and the deep run this week only support the fact that Mahut plays his best under faster conditions: His titles were won on grass in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, and Newport, Rhode Island, while Metz is played on indoor hard courts.
That sparks a particular question in regards to how Mahut's career has gone.
What if he played in a different era, before the advent of slower surfaces?
Nowadays, it's nothing to see pure baseliners such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray contest Wimbledon finals, where as recently as 15 years ago—with their style of play—they would've been hard-pressed to make it out of the premier grass tournament's first week.
With court surfaces slowed to extend rallies and fast carpet removed from indoor tournaments, heavier balls and breakthroughs in string technology that allows players to hit all-out with heavy topspin, it's left players reluctant or unable to move forward unless they've hit the perfect shot. That's been a huge deterrent in seeing serve-and-volley tennis.
Those factors have left competitors like Mahut in the dust.
Before Mahut lost that epic Wimbledon match to John Isner, he was known primarily as a player that could pose a threat on grass and perhaps indoors. It showed in his results as the only other times he made singles finals came in 2007, when he reached the championship round in Newport and Queen's Club in London.
Mahut has had success in doubles, where attacking play is rewarded. This year, he notched the biggest result o...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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