Hitting the Lines

Clay Court tennis has its own distinct charm. The slipping, the sliding, the dusting of muddy shoes, the long rallies - all this gives a distinct ring to tennis fans around the world. The red clay does not have the glamour, tradition or old world magic of its grassy cousin, however its got its own legion of fans and even quite a few players who swear by it.

Tennis is one of those unique games that still maintain a role for the playing surface. Cricket being the other such notable sport. Indeed its a welcome break from other sports whose playing surfaces bore you with their monotony. However, the love-all game does provide a whole array of playing surfaces for the fans to enjoy, ranging from the very fast Grass courts to the less faster hard courts to the slower clay courts at the other end of the spectrum. Hence the surface becomes as much part of the contest as the players themselves. The variance in surface poses the players myriad challenges to overcome and the one who succeeds on all surfaces rightfully claims to being one of the greatest of all-time.

Personally I am a big fan of the grass courts. As much attracted by its rarity and history as much as for its favour for skillful and elegant players. However watching the surfeit of Clay court tennis overtime i have come to appreciate its beauty too. Its like learning to appreciate a Vinci after witnessing a divine Michelangelo.

Clay courts offer a different challenge to the players. It offers less speed and high bounce which makes it very difficult to hit winners. Hence most attacking players usually struggle on clay as they cannot make the pace to force winners and end up with a lot of unforced errors. Also there is no easy way out of a tricky situation, for instance on grass , an attacking player when he is say 30-40 can come up with couple of big serves to get out of the hole even as his opponent is helplessly stranded. None of it will do on clay as you have to slug out relentless rallies to win most points. As someone rightly said 'Clay allows the story of a match to unfold like the plot of a good book'.

On the other hand the players who consistently hit the ball deep and who have a wide repertoire of shots gain a distinct advantage. It is also a real test of endurance and agility. In a way there is a levelling of the ground or court rather whereby both attacking and defensive players come on the same plane and the ensuing long rallies ensure a fascinating game for audiences. The recipe therefore for success on clay is consistently 'hitting the lines' at real pace. Rafael Nadal keeps doing that all the time and has since emerged as the best clay courter of his generation and arguably of all-time.

If Wimbledon is the haloed turf for grass courters , French Open is the ultimate price for any clay courter. But due to the various challenges mentioned above some of the greatest players in the game have never won at Paris in spite of many attempts. Pete Sampras is one who springs to mind instantly and the French open was the one trophy that came in between him being a great player and the greatest of all time. Well what do they say, you can't win everything.

As the red clay in Paris glows as radiant as ever and tennis superstars battle on it to be called the 'King of Clay', its time to sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Vive la Fête.