Court surface

[Vlad]

I am just wondering, with all this talk about Wimbledon getting slower and US Open being the fastest hard court, do you think grass in London still a lot faster than hard in New York? Also, of all Masters (on hard) which one is the fastest and slowest?

[Justyn Daniell]

I think that the grass is a little bit faster than the US Open hard court...the bounce is lower which will make it seem faster too...I believe that the Nasdaq is the fastest and the Pac Life Open is slowest

Isn't the PLO hard? I thought clay was always slower than hard...

[NoBadMojo]

they resurface all the flushing meadows courts just before the open each year..i think they also resurface the other NY tourney just before the open too (assuming they still have it) to match. from what i know, they change the speed of the court based upon which US player(s) game they wish the courts to favour. With Agassi not a contender, I think they will set them up more to the liking of Roddick..thoughts? and do you think Roddicks game favours a faster hardcourt or a slower hardcourt? ed

[PureCarlosMoyaDrive]

Roddick would like a faster hardcourt I bet. And for the fastest hardcourt masters series, I would say is Toronto or Cincinatti, Miami and IW are slower.

[PistolPete]

NoBadMojo...

If you are talking about the Hamlet cup now TD Waterhouse cup as the NY tournament before the Open, yes it is still around and I believe Agassi is playing in it this year. I'm not really sure if the surface there is the same as the open.

[Brian Purdie]

So how do you "rig" the court for a fast court player. Make it smoother, with less grip? More like a hardwood floor than a rough, sandpaper-like finish? Has this ever been proven to have been done in the past by tounament officials at the highest and lowest levels?

[Max G.]

Originally Posted by Brian Purdie

So how do you "rig" the court for a fast court player. Make it smoother, with less grip? More like a hardwood floor than a rough, sandpaper-like finish? Has this ever been proven to have been done in the past by tounament officials at the highest and lowest levels?

Well, it's clearly possible - the technique is to put more (or less) sand in the acrylic layer, or so the commentators say. This will make the ball bite into hte court more (or less) making the surface slower (faster.)

Whether it's done at the US Open is debatable - all I have on this is rumors, though I wouldn't at all be surprised. It would only be possible at a tournament at which the courts are resurfaced often enough - at the Open, that's done each year. So it's a possibility.

[Brian Purdie]

okay, thank you for the explaination. I didn't know you how much variability you could have with the top layer. Now that you mention it, I do recall Wimby 2001. They changed the grass from a mix with rye to 100% rye to make it last longer and leave the grass firmer. We saw a few more rallys than usual that year, but it was a decision make very public by Wimby officials to encourage longer points and give the spectators a better show.

[bcaz]

Hardcourt surfaces can get quite sophisticated. The amount of cushioning can vary a lot, and there are at least two kinds of sand in the top layer. One kind is round, mostly providing traction, while the sharp sand is very abrasive and really makes the ball bite and sit up more.