The US OPEN 2013/US OPEN SERIES

[zep1706]

pretty true..

Not so true actually. The slow court stuff is a bit exaggeration. Federer won all of his US open titles on slow courts. The USTA has on record stated that they slowed down the court speed a little bit in 2003 and hasn't made changes since then. The game has just gotten a lot more physical with improvement of strings tech and general fitness level of the top players. A double handed backhand surely has an advantage over a single handed one from the baseline on most courts except the low bouncy ones like rubberized indoor or grass. The playing style of the current top players makes the courts look slower than they are. I will give you an example, the following match between Nadal and Murray is from 2008 when Federer won his last US open. The court speed doesn't look anything different from what it is now. But if you see a Federer match from the same year it would look speedy because of his style of play. I have embedded the highlights of the Federer vs Berdych from last year. The court actually looks faster there for the obvious reason. The courts have indeed slowed down. But that's from the '90s. They haven't changed much in the last 10 years as far as grand slams are concerned. INUnajp6e8c ZyRGfbObciE

[adi B]

^ i give u on that berdych-fed game last year,the shots and style of play made the court look fast..the physical nature of the game has toned up a lot and with players using poly strings, the rally speed has reduced,another reason is that players play way behind the baseline so the ball takes longer time to reach the opponent giving an illusion the courts have slowed.. but the courts have defo slowed down add to that the physicality of the game,strings of racquets and the type of balls used,its very difficult to play with single hand backhand.. one of the most underrated attribute in fed`s game at his prime was his footwork and immaculate precision in baseline games which has terribly gone down and down since 2008 and now his game is nowhere near the top level

[zep1706]

^ i give u on that berdych-fed game last year' date='the shots and style of play made the court look fast..the physical nature of the game has toned up a lot and with players using poly strings, the rally speed has reduced,another reason is that players play way behind the baseline so the ball takes longer time to reach the opponent giving an illusion the courts have slowed..[/quote'] Thank you for having the honesty to say that, many try to act blind if it suits their theory. Completely agree with you. I have always said that and there are documented evidence that the courts have been slowed down. But that process is not something new. Wimbledon slowed down the courts in 2001, US open in 2003 and the surface change in Australian open from Rebound Ace(which was already slow by the way) to Plexi-cushion in 2008 slowed it down further. But I still think that a single handed backhand has an advantage over a double handed on grass. But the problem is there is only one grass court tournament of any real value. So it makes no sense to prefer single handed backhand now as a kid. It will gradually become extinct which is a shame cause it looks way more elegant than a double handed backhand. I wish there was a masters 1000 on grass. He was definitely a great mover. I can only think of Sampras who was as good as him when it comes to moving on grass. However I don't think it's underrated, any real fan of the game would rate him as one of the best movers ever and his footwork was second to none. His movements started to decline from 2010 and this year it's been really poor. But that's natural with age.