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The Australian Open has delivered one of the most exciting fortnights of tennis in recent memory, with upsets and veterans resurging on both sides of the draw. Novak Djokovic went down to free-swinging Denis Istomin in the second round while Andy Murray misfired again and again under the pressure of journeyman serve-volleyer Mischa Zverev.
Roger Federer has danced through the draw and the forecourt with displays of aggressive tennis. Rafael Nadal’s forehand looks to have the bite and fright of his glory days. Much credit must be given to these two men themselves, who have comeback from injuries in 2016 to display their vintages at the back-end of a slam once again.
Yet it would be naïve to think they didn’t do this without the help of the unusually faster and bouncier conditions at this year’s Open. Federer, along with many other players, has noted the faster conditions at this year’s event, and much has been said of the balls playing ‘lighter’ or quicker through the air, especially during the day.
Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of Serena Williams (who will contest tomorrow night’s final against sister Venus), said prior to the open; “It will be an advantage for the players that play flatter, are aggressive baseliners or enjoy playing on faster courts, because they know how to use well their opponents’ pace.”
And so it has been, with players like Kei Nishikori, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, David Goffin, Grigor Dimitrov and Mischa Zverev all having career-best results on faster surfaces, and all making this year’s quarter-finals. It’s not a surprise that Federer and Milos Raonic are fast court specialists, and including them means seven of the eight players in this year’s line up lapped up the conditions provided.
Nadal commented after his second-round win over Marcos Baghdatis that the conditions were totally different from the day and that the ball was quite heavy and slow. Baghdatis concurred, even raising his concerns to the chair umpire during the match citing how much quicker the outside courts were.
But slow as they may be at night, the conditions, overall, are faster and bouncier than in recent years ever since Melbourne Park got its blue face-lift in 2008, replacing the lime green courts of years before.
Five of Federer’s six matches this year have been played at night, and despite the night slowing the ball down, Federer has repeatedly stated how much faster the court is playing.
This has undoubtedly helped him in nearly every aspect of his game. It’s no secret he excels on fast surfaces, with seven Wimbledon titles from ten finals, five US Open titles from seven finals, and three of his Australian Open titles being claimed on the quicker lime green surface pre-2008.
He doesn’t have the power of Stan Wawrinka, but his swings are shorter and he uses the pace of his opponents by taking it earlier. He is not as fast as Nadal, but he stands on the baseline and cuts off angles. He doesn’t have the power-serve of Milos Raonic, but he has pinpoint precision and unmatched disguise, allowing him to hit a lot of his aces with relatively slow pace.
Nadal has benefitted from the new surface this year in his own way, with the court reacting to spin and taking on a high bounce, as noted by Mouratoglou again: “To be totally clear, when the players use topspin, the court responds well to it and the ball bounces high, but when you play flatter, the ball takes a lot of speed.”
And here in perhaps lies the secret, maybe even dependence; on the success they have enjoyed this year. Contrary to popular belief it is the bounce height, and not the speed that frazzles Nadal. He has no allergy to speed, only a lack of bounce, which thwarts his vicious-kicking forehands. The Spaniard has bagged many titles on quick courts, as long as the bounce was there for him, with multiple Masters wins in Canada and Cincinnati, and multiple Wimbledon titles when the grass provided more kick.
Compare that to his zero Miami Masters titles in the swamp-like conditions, where there is speed but not much bounce, similar to his zero World Tour Finals, where again the speed is medium but the bounce considered low.
Debates rage over who is the greatest. Some say Federer with his unmatched 17 grand slams. Some say Nadal because of his 14 and his head-to-head. Some say Djokovic because of his recent domination and favourable record against both Federer and Nadal. Some say Sampras, or Borg, or Laver, or Gonzalez or some other.
My point is that all these players are the greatest. They all have that rare mix of talent, belief, work ethic and a pinch of something you can’t really define but you can see it. How they perform over a career, then, given how close they are in abilities, sometimes comes down to the surface and the generation they were allotted in.
Nadal would likely have 20 slams if there were two clay majors a year. Federer the same with two Wimbledons. Djokovic has dominated on slow hard courts of recent years, would he have done so on quicker courts? When two greats clash it is the conditions, more than their will, that determine the outcome.
It is not for us to conclusively label one and shun the others. Perhaps that’s sitting on the fence, but you do see more from up here, and they are all the greatest in their own way.
If Nadal beats Dimitrov tonight and gives us a final we never thought we would see again, it won’t matter who wins to me. They are both two of the greatest players of all-time. It is the way they played the game; the style, intensity and skill they showed us, that made them legends. Their numbers are all good enough to confirm that.
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