Clay-court specialist

Clay-court specialist

A clay-court specialist is a tennis player who excels on clay courts, but does not perform to the same standard on hard courts, grass courts, or other surfaces. The term is most frequently applied to professional players on the ATP or WTA tours rather than to average players.

Due in part to advances in racquet technology, today's clay-court specialists are also known for employing long, winding groundstrokes that generate heavy topspin, strokes which are much less effective when the surface is faster and the balls don't bounce as high. Clay-court specialists tend to slide more effectively on clay than other players. Many of them are also very adept at hitting the drop shot, which is effective because rallies on clay courts often leave players pushed far beyond the baseline. Additionally, the slow, long rallies require a great degree of mental focus and physical stamina from the players.

The definition of "clay-court specialist" has varied, with some placing players such as Rafael Nadal, Thomas Muster, Sergi Bruguera, Gustavo Kuerten, and Juan Carlos Ferrero in that category, even though these players have won tournaments (including Masters Series events) on other surfaces. However, since these players (with the exception of Nadal) won major titles only at the French Open, they are sometimes labeled as such. Other players, such as Sergi Bruguera, Albert Costa and Gastón Gaudio were French Open champions who won all or very nearly all of their career titles on clay. Among female players, there have been very few whose best results were confined exclusively to clay. Virginia Ruzici, Anastasia Myskina, Iva Majoli, Sue Barker and Ana Ivanovic are the only female players to have won major titles at only the French Open since the beginning of the tennis open era in 1968.

In recent years clay courters have attempted to play better on other surfaces [cite news | last = Ford | first = Bonnie D | title = Nadal the lead warrior in Spanish surge on grass | publisher = EPSN.com | date = 2003-09-206 | url = http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/wimbledon08/columns/story?columnist=ford_bonnie_d&id=3463241 | accessdate = 2008-07-10] , with some success. Ferrero, reached the US Open Final in 2003 [cite news | title = Ferrero shatters Agassi hopes | publisher = BBC | date = 2008-06-27 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/us_open_2003/3087014.stm | accessdate = 2008-07-10] , the same year he won the French Open, and has also won hardcourt tournaments [cite news | title = Ferrero claims Madrid title | publisher = BBC | date = 2002-10-19 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/3205848.stm | accessdate = 2008-07-10] . It has been Rafael Nadal who has amongst clay court specialists had the most success on other surfaces, he reached the Wimbledon Final in 2006 [http://www.inthenews.co.uk/wimbledon/profile/sport/features/wimbledon-profile-men/rafael-nadal-runner-up-$1101912.htm] and in 2007 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/6280788.stm BBC SPORT | Tennis | Federer wins historic fifth title ] ] , before finally winning in 2008 [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/06/AR2008070601342.html?hpid=sec-sports Midsummer Classic - washingtonpost.com ] ]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Clay court — Court Philippe Chatrier at Stade Roland Garros in Paris during the 2006 French Open. A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is slower than the green, or …   Wikipedia

  • Grass-court specialist — A grass court specialist is a tennis player who excels on grass courts but does not perform to the same standard on hard courts, clay courts or other surfaces. The term is generally only applied to professional players on the ATP and WTA tours,… …   Wikipedia

  • Hard-court specialist — A hard court specialist is a tennis player who excels on hard courts, but does not perform to the same standard on clay courts, grass courts, or other surfaces. The term is most frequently applied to professional players on the ATP or WTA tours… …   Wikipedia

  • clay — [[t]kle͟ɪ[/t]] clays 1) N MASS: oft N n Clay is a kind of earth that is soft when it is wet and hard when it is dry. Clay is shaped and baked to make things such as pots and bricks. ...the heavy clay soils of Cambridgeshire... As the wheel turned …   English dictionary

  • Tennis court — This article is about the sports venue. For the Revolutionary impetus, see Tennis Court Oath. Indoor tennis courts at the University of Bath, England …   Wikipedia

  • Roger Federer — Federer redirects here. For other uses, see Federer (disambiguation). Roger Federer Federer at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships Country …   Wikipedia

  • Federer-Nadal rivalry — Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are professional tennis players and rivals who have held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour since July 2005. Federer was ranked No. 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is… …   Wikipedia

  • Pete Sampras — Infobox Tennis biography playername = Pete Sampras nickname = Pistol Pete , King of Swing country = [United States] | residence = Los Angeles datebirth = birth date and age|mf=yes|1971|8|12 placebirth = Washington, D.C. height =… …   Wikipedia

  • Federer–Nadal rivalry — Federer serves to Nadal during the 2008 Wimbledon final …   Wikipedia

  • Rafael Nadal — Infobox Tennis player playername=Rafael Nadal full name= Rafael Nadal i Parera nickname= Rafa , Gladiator , The King of Clay , The Bull country= Spain residence= Manacor, Majorca datebirth= birth date and age|mf=yes|1986|6|3 placebirth= Manacor,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”