why the hell at 2008 , AO court change from rebound ace >> Plexicushion ?
- Thread starter skypadq
- Start date
RelentlessAttack
Semi-Pro
These things are typically related to corporate deals and so on, certainly nothing to do with the players. Wasn’t it a nation wide push for plexicushion conversions?
HetTheGreaterer
Legend
Absolutely correct.
It was a slow, low bouncing hard court.
Some people may not have an idea at all about what they're posting about tennis.
Making others competitive versus Federer or making rallies longer is part of corporate deals as well. If the matches are longer it means more commercial time. And if Fed is not dominating, that is good for business.
HetTheGreaterer
Legend
Though feder dominating is much better than say, djokovic dominating for business. His game is interesting to watch. (No disrespect to djok)
NatF
Bionic Poster
It was high bouncing as well. Hewitt used to complain about it.
youngpolyhater
Rookie
It was a sticky surface or something.
But it's not, you sell more tickets when you have three way rivalry and controversy and fan wars. Because now you have more fan bases tuning in plus more haters to see the other guy lose.
NatF
Bionic Poster
I think it got sticky?
haqq777
Legend
On the surface, Australian Open gets a new bounce
www.nytimes.com
Reasoning given by Craig Tiley, Director Australian Open:
Tiley said Rebound Ace varied significantly in speed and bounce from court to court, in part because of differences in thickness in the pre-formed rubber mats that serve as the underlayer. He also said there were significant variations on a single court, particularly in hot conditions.
"When shade would come across the court, the ball would react differently in the shaded area than in the part with sun," Tiley said. "That's because the court was retaining some heat, and it was a thicker rubber underneath."
While Tiley said Rebound Ace had underlayers as thick as 15 millimeters, or half an inch, Plexicushion has a four-millimeter underlayer, which is applied with a squeegee in liquid form and contains rubber and other proprietary particles. Press the court with your thumb and it still gives, but just a little.
Also from same article:
The surface, introduced in 1968, has received mixed reviews at lead-in events, with some players embracing it and others deeming it too slow. The game's leading man, Roger Federer, was unenthusiastic Sunday, when he pronounced himself ready to open his season after recovering from a case of food poisoning that left him briefly hospitalized after arriving in Melbourne on Jan. 4.
"I think the surface is a little bit too slow," he said. "Everything is already slowing down. Everybody's already complaining that we're playing too much from the baseline. So we'll only see more of that here in Australia, that's for sure."
But the consensus is that Plexicushion will be less punishing than Rebound Ace, which many players blamed for ankle injuries and hip soreness even though a study by the men's and women's tours failed to find an incontrovertible link.
Overall, very nuanced feedback from players at that time. Interesting article to say the least. Didn't know all this that well myself till I looked this up.
ReeceSachs
Hall of Fame
Wasn’t that slow imo but not fast as well. Not IW/old Miami slow. Maybe it was medium or at the very least medium-slow. The play styles of players could make it look faster with Agassi/Safin matches.
NatF
Bionic Poster
Definitely wasn't medium.
ReeceSachs
Hall of Fame
Will have to see more clips of RA matches I don’t recall it being significantly slower than current USO or Wimbledon which is like medium speed.
NatF
Bionic Poster
Just started charting Hewitt vs Blake at the AO in 2005, commies talking non stop in the beginning how slow the court is and how much quicker the USO is.
ReeceSachs
Hall of Fame
USO used to be medium-fast with ProDecoTurf I think it was the fastest slam years ago. AO was always slower than USO until the last few years or so.
helterskelter
Legend
It was hard to classify in the court rating scheme because it was much more rubberized than most hard courts. As a result of the rubber content, the ball bounce very high but it didn't lose as much pace off the bounce as would most courts with a similar bounce. So, for the bounce height it had, it was a pretty quick court, but that bounce height was so high that overall it was probably more like medium-slow.
Like Plexicushion, it also varied over the years. In the late 1990s, it was getting very slow, so they gave it a fresh coat of paint for 2000 and 2001 and both years were much faster, especially 2000.
NatF
Bionic Poster
Yeah I'm aware that in 2000 it played pretty quick, was thinking mostly about Fed's winning years.
Very high bounce and medium slow seems fair.
helterskelter
Legend
Right, a bounce that was as high as most slow courts but with less time passing between the first and second bounce than on a slow court.