What Are Rafael Nadal’s Chances? Look To the Skies

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 31, 2010

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At the US and Australian Opens, rain prompts an immediate stop in play–followed by the employment of the roof Down Under. Any tennis player dumb enough to play on wet asphalt is asking for a turned ankle, or maybe worse.

The grass of Wimbledon isn’t quite as risky in the rain, but you still won’t see players stay on it should the drops start falling; concrete or not, no one enjoys falling on their hind ends, especially when hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent cultivating an image of them as great athletes.  

The clay of Roland Garros is different. Sure, if the rain starts falling in buckets, the players will ask off of it, because no serious competitor likes playing in mud. If the downpour is light, though, play can continue with relatively low risk of the players hurting themselves.

A little rain, though, can make plenty of difference in what kind of conditions the players find on court.

Just ask Andy Murray. The Scotsman is no one’s clay court specialist, but he remains the game’s premier counterpuncher, utilizing speed, touch, and court sense to keep harder hitters off balance. That’s what he did to Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic in Australia. That’s what he would have liked to have done to Tomas Berdych in their fourth round encounter on Sunday.

Sadly for the Scot, the weather was damp, and so was the court. In faster conditions he might have been able to deny the Czech–one of the heaviest hitters to ever play the game–the time needed to set up those forehands. With the moisture in the dirt, though, Murray couldn’t rush Berdych, who had plenty of time to hit 47 winners to the Scot’s 28.

You can also ask Andy Roddick, who doesn’t mind getting into long rallies, provided he can also win his share of free points on the serve. Forcing opponents to play long points on their service games, after all, can r...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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