What makes a good grass player?

[Recoveringhobo]

I used to think it was compact strokes, good slice, big flat serve, and an all court attacking game was the recipe. I always thought that Nadal and Djokovic doing well on grass was just because they were incredible on any surface and would always find a way to win. I'm not so sure any more.

The success of Del Potro and Thiem this week on Stuttgart grass is starting to make me doubt my assumption. Stuttgart grass seems quicker than that of SW19 - more similar to the pre-2004 Wimbledon grass or Halle. And with the success of of those two players I'm thinking maybe 'the recipe' should just be changed to 'offensive game.'

Player who have had relative success on grass compared to the rest of their careers are players like Federer, Kohlschreiber, Mahut, Muller, Hewitt, Murray, Youzhny, Berdych, Kiefer, Dimitrov, Lopez, Roddick, Henman. Now I think you could break them up into several groups:

• All-court attacking (primarily baseline with good slice backhand): Fed, Kohl, Youzhny, Kiefer, Dimitrov, Lopez.

• S&Vers (on grass) - Henman, Muller, Mahut, Stakhovsky.
• Counter punchers (good slice backhand, flat strokes) - Murray and Hewitt
• Power base liners (big serve) - Roddick
• Flat power base liners - Berdych

Now, Thiem and Del Potro normally would fall into the spinny power base liner category. You know, the sort of player that has big long strokes and needs time to set those up. I think this category is the least suited for grass and typically does better on clay. Think Wawrinka, Kuerten, Soderling, etc.

But these two players are doing well on grass. Why? Even though these are two players that have big long strokes both have committed to slice backhands because they penetrate on grass. They both have attacking serves and forehands. I'm thinking that besides the counter punchers the only important aspect when it comes to grass is an attacking game.

 

[Deleted member 512391]

Athleticism is the most important skill a tennis player need to posses in order to be successful on grass, imo. You have to deal with the low and inconsistent bounce over and over again (bending the knees, feeling the extreme pressure in the back), to run fast on a slippery surface and cover the court and to set up optimally for your groundstrokes for an extremely limited period of time. Only a tremendous athlete is able to consistently perform successfully on such a surface.

The best examples are Borg and Nadal. They didn't have the killer serves (like Fed or Pete), they are not the flat hitters or the players with tones of varieties in their game, but they are arguably the best athletes to ever play the game, which explains their success (Borg five titles, Nadal two titles and five finals at Wimbledon) on grass, even though their games are not designed for that surface at all.

 

[metsman]

Athleticism is the most important skill a tennis player need to posses in order to be successful on grass, imo. You have to deal with the low and inconsistent bounce over and over again (bending the knees, feeling the extreme pressure in the back), to run fast on a slippery surface and cover the court and to set up optimally for your groundstrokes for an extremely limited period of time. Only a tremendous is able to consistently perform successfully on such a surface.

The best examples are Borg and Nadal. They didn't have the killer serves (like Fed or Pete), they are not the flat hitters or the players with tones of varieties in their game, but they are arguably the best athletes to ever play the game, which explains their success (Borg five titles, Nadal two titles and five finals at Wimbledon) on grass, even though their games are not designed for that surface at all.

I agree...you either have to be really athletic and quick along with some shotmaking talent or have a great serve. If you combine the two (Fed, Sampras) you get the GOAT grass player