Some love it, others a little less. The Wimbledon grass tends to delight the big servers, those who advocate fast tennis, made of attack and risk-taking. The more wait-and-see ones, on the other hand, are eager to finish, to quickly return to the clay after the London tournament.
However, the difference in speed between Wimbledon and other tournaments is no longer so great. Especially towards the end of the fortnight, when some areas of grass give way to a shabby earth, with a high bounce that suits fans of topspin with a rounded effect.
The younger ones probably don’t know that before 2001, the bounce was so low that the safest option was the serve-and-volley, now a relic of the past. The aces rained down, at a sometimes tiresome pace. “Game, set and yawn” was even the headline of an English daily in 1998, the day after Pete Sampras’ 5th triumph.
It was after the Goran Ivanisevic-Pat Rafter final in 2001 that Wimbledon organizers decided to transform their grass and make the bounce higher. As a result, the following year, the final was played between two baseliners, Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian.
“To improve the quality of the grass, we transformed it, and that made the bounce higher. Making it slower was not our intention,” explained Neil Stubley, who has been responsible for the London courts for 29 years. But the step was taken, to contribute to a standardization of speeds on the circuit, to the great displeasure of grass purists.
No singles for Andy Murray
Former world No. 1 Andy Murray of Scotland injured his back at the Queens Open on June 19. He underwent surgery shortly after, which left him with little chance of being fully recovered for Wimbledon. The Briton waited until the last minute, but yesterday he had to announce his withdrawal from the singles, a few hours before facing Czech Tomas Machac. A two-time Wimbledon winner, Andy Murray (37) is however expected to line up in the doubles, alongside his brother Jamie.
