Who is helped most my closed Centre Court roof?

[FedEx23]

We know Roger is a great indoor player due to the elimination of various factors like sun and wind. If he were to hypothetically face off against Nadal in the final, would a closed roof due to rain help him at all with his serve? Has anyone noticed any changed in the indoor grass game during the few times the roof has closed since 2009? To me, it seems like a pretty similar game indoors vs. outdoors but it would be interesting to see if Roger gains an advantage with a closed roof due to the fact that he plays with less margin for error than Nadal.

Which player would be helped most by the closing of the roof?

 

[Sharpshooter]

Considering the weather at WIm this year, being wet and all, the moisture would be trapped in the stadium and the humdity levels would rise. Couple that with the reportedly heavy balls this year and you can expect conditions to be fairly slow, so it would probably give Rafa the edge instead of Fed.

 

[Fedex]

I know Murray struggles with the closed roof.
2nd time I've seen him play and 2nd time he's struggled.
The humidity takes the sting off the ball and he can't get the same amount of winners and gets drawn into long draining rallies.
And the humidity is more tiring.
Never seen Fed or Nadal playing under the roof but you would think these conditions of attrition would suit Nadal.

 

[Bobby Jr]

Considering the weather at WIm this year, being wet and all, the moisture would be trapped in the stadium and the humdity levels would rise. Couple that with the reportedly heavy balls this year and you can expect conditions to be fairly slow, so it would probably give Rafa the edge instead of Fed.

Bounce: Higher humidity and overall damper ground conditions in the lead-up to the tournament should slightly softer ground = means lower bounces = net advantage to Federer.

However - heavy balls are a two edged sword. If they bounce more they would help with Nadal's playing high to to Federer's backhand but they may be a little slower which could help Federer get into position for more shots. As seen at the French Open, the extra time available to get to balls definitely allows Federer a little more grace despite the common view that he prefers faster courts. There is a middle ground in there somewhere.

From what I saw last night the courts are a little faster than last year - although there could be 12 more days of dry weather between now and finals day to dry and harden up... or not.

 

[TheMagicianOfPrecision]

Faster courts this year- good news
Slower balls- How so? Isnt the balls the same every year? (slazenger)

 

[Sharpshooter]

Bounce: Higher humidity and overall damper ground conditions in the lead-up to the tournament should slightly softer ground = means lower bounces = net advantage to Federer.

However - heavy balls are a two edged sword. If they bounce more they would help with Nadal's playing high to to Federer's backhand but they may be a little slower which could help Federer get into position for more shots. As seen at the French Open, the extra time available to get to balls definitely allows Federer a little more grace despite the common view that he prefers faster courts. There is a middle ground in there somewhere.

From what I saw last night the courts are a little faster than last year - although there could be 12 more days of dry weather between now and finals day to dry and harden up... or not.

The ground won't be as soft in the second week as the grass fades to dirt.

As for the heavy balls it makes it that much harder to penetrate the court - advantage Nadal in that situation.

 

[Bobby Jr]

The ground won't be as soft in the second week as the grass fades to dirt.

The hardness of the ground is caused mainly by the humidity over a few months period. The 2 weeks of the tournament only play part of the equation.

 

[Sharpshooter]

Faster courts this year- good news
Slower balls- How so? Isnt the balls the same every year? (slazenger)

The speed will not be faster in cold conditions. The amount of water vapor in the air will affect the balls in flight and since the balls are heavier and fluff up really quick as well the conditions will be slow.

 

[Sharpshooter]

The hardness of the ground is caused mainly by the humidity over a few months period. The 2 weeks of the tournament only play part of the equation.

Don't forget the dirt at wimbledon is a hardened type of soil and is generally more dense so it isn't really that soft to begin with.

 

[BULLZ1LLA]

We know Roger is a great indoor player due to the elimination of various factors like sun and wind. If he were to hypothetically face off against Nadal in the final, would a closed roof due to rain help him at all with his serve? Has anyone noticed any changed in the indoor grass game during the few times the roof has closed since 2009? To me, it seems like a pretty similar game indoors vs. outdoors but it would be interesting to see if Roger gains an advantage with a closed roof due to the fact that he plays with less margin for error than Nadal.

Which player would be helped most by the closing of the roof?

(In the 2010 World Tour Finals final, Rafa won the 2nd set over Federer, and Rafa had to win a marathon vs Murray in the WTF SF and looked really exhausted, so I think indoor at Wimbledon could go either way. Also, the pressure of a GS Final favors Rafa's mental stability and Rafa has never lost a set to Murray at Wimbledon so he might be fresher than Federer, while Federer may need to play a long match vs Djokovic)

 

[Bobby Jr]

Don't forget the dirt at wimbledon is a hardened type of soil and is generally more dense so it isn't really that soft to begin with.

It's only hard because for a few years it had such long dry spells in the lead up to Wimbledon. The grounds-keeper himself said in an interview that the hardness is caused by time the court has been down and lack of moisture. Hardness makes the ball bounce higher. With any moisture or long periods of humidity this will reverse. Just how much it reverses is anyone's guess but it is well worth considering that this year's wet lead up to Wimbledon is in contrast to the past two years which have been super dry for many weeks prior.

Maybe it'll made 5cm of height difference on a normal shot... maybe 10cm.

I'm hoping for 50cm. :twisted: