The Clay Court is now in session!
For the next month and a half it is time for a single surface to have its moment on the ATP tour. Get set for some long rallies, great angles, a dominating bunch of Spanish tennis players you've maybe never noticed before and lots of slow, red clay! The tour now shifts to Europe for a solid stretch leading up to the French Open at the end of May. Nothing but clay court tournaments each week until then. Lets take a closer look at the road to the next Grand Slam and discover what players to pay close attention to during that journey.
There are numerous clay court tournaments that lead up to Roland Garros, but three in particular of note. The Master Series events in Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg will tell us a great deal about who is a worthy contender for the King of the clay court. Last year we saw the same familiar faces throughout the clay court season and there is no reason to expect that to change in 2008. Rafael Nadal has made the finals of every single Masters Series clay court tournament he has played going back to 2004. He is the three time French Open champ and is going to be incredibly difficult to take a single set off of, let alone beat on this surface. He seems to be healthy so far this year, and as his result last week in Monte Carlo indicated, he is as dangerous as ever on clay. Nadal never gives up on a rally which helps him wear down his opponents point by point. He clearly holds a mental advantage over all of his opposition. His one area of vulnerability is the heavy schedule of tournaments he chooses to play leading up to the main event in Paris. This makes him susceptible to potential injuries and fatigue.
Roger Federer would certainly have beaten the all time Grand Slam record of Pete Sampras by now had it not been for Nadal's clay court dominance. Roland Garros is the only slam missing from his repertoire, although he has reached the finals twice and semi finals on one other occasion. Last year he finally defeated Nadal in a clay court match in Hamburg, and also reached the finals in Monte Carlo - a result he repeated last week. The fact that he is guaranteed not to meet Nadal in any of these tournaments until the finals, bodes well for Roger. However when faced with the tough challenge that those finals present, it seems as though Rafa has gotten into Federer's head and holds the mental edge.
The final two major contenders I see on clay this year are Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko. These all-surface players are dangerous year round. Both had impressive results in 2007 including semi final appearances at the French Open. Oddly enough they both also made the semi finals last week in Monte Carlo. That result does not inspire much hope amongst the competition of being able to make a dent in this dangerous group of four.
Then there is a larger group of players I would call pure clay court specialists. You likely won't see any of this group making much noise on grass or hard courts, but they will gather their share of victories on the red dirt. Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco, Jose Acasuso, Tommy Robredo and perhaps Filippo Volandri are among the most consistent clay court players on tour. Many of these players will end up with clay court titles, although usually of the smaller variety. They rack up many clay court wins primarily because it is the predominant surface they play on, however they typically will falter on the larger stage of Masters Series events and Roland Garros as well. Of that group, only Robredo has made it to the quarter finals of the French Open. When the other big names show up to play, this group simply cannot keep pace.
Some names to float around who may be able to cause some damage on clay and yet I wouldn't recommend placing any wagers on them include Igor Andreev, Thomas Berdych, Fernando Gonzalez, David Nalbandian and David Ferrer. Someone from this group will likely make a splash somewhere along the way, although consistency is not part of their profile. My wild card pick this year is Mario Ancic, who could be a threat now that he has some matches under his belt after injuries took their toll in 2007.
Players you won't see making any noise this year include former clay court monsters Guillermo Coria, Gaston Gaudio, and Gustavo Kuerten in his French Open swan song. Also lacking in any serious clay court discussions are Andy Roddick, and every other American tennis player you can think of.
So there you have it, a quick overview of who we might expect to see racking up the ranking points this Spring. Nothing from the first big clay court tournament this year leads me to think we will witness any major changes from 2007, although you can never predict the future. Until any major surprises though, welcome to the clay court - the honorable Rafael Nadal presiding!
how to read your squarespace news? With all respect,
Posted by: 1ted | May 08, 2008 at 02:19 AM