By Chris Oddo | Monday, April 27, 2015
Maria Sharapova has become a tour de force on clay in recent years, but is the Russian better than all the rest?
Photo Source: AFP
It’s that time of year again. Time to dust off the stats and see which players are really worth their weight in crushed red brick. Tennis has its rankings and its races to the year-end championships, but when it comes to surface-specific rankings, we’ve realized that the onus is on us. So we took it upon ourselves to choose five men and five women to make up a short list of the Top 10 clay-courters in the game today.
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The list is based on current form more than anything else (it takes history into account but only in the sense that good clay-courters, even if playing poorly at the moment, will always be good clay-courters), as in which player would you want playing for you if you had a million or so of your hard-earned dollars wagered on the winner of Roland Garros, 2015.
Without any further ado, the list:
1. Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal is, was and always will be the greatest clay-court player of all-time, but right now it’s time for Novak Djokovic to have his day in the sun (or beneath the clouds) at Roland Garros. Nadal has the far more accomplished body of work, with more than twice the victories on clay and more than four times the titles, but Djokovic has done well to split his last ten matches on clay with Nadal. The only thing Djokovic hasn’t done is ride the momentum he’s created to a Roland Garros victory over his archrival. That has been difficult for the Serb to stomach, but it’s also made him hungry. Perhaps this is the year he will finally feast on the terre battue.
2. Rafael Nadal
It feels strange putting Nadal as No. 2 on this list, but based on his two losses to Fabio Fognini and his straight-sets defeat at the hands of Djokovic in Monte-Carlo, that’s where he deserves to be. The good news is there’s time for him to get his game into tip-top shape so that he can stand atop this list by the end of Roland Garros. As difficult as his trials have been of late Nadal still owns a 75-8 record on the surface since 2013. At the moment Nadal is clearly not the player he was in his most beastly of clay-court seasons. He may never be again. But the heart of a champion beats within him and we all know he is spending his time trying to get his ducks in a row so that he can make a run for a tenth Roland Garros title in late May and early June.
3. Serena Williams
So much attention has been placed on Maria Sharapova for her sudden emergence as a clay-court guru, but the fact of the matter is that Serena Williams has the edge over Sharapova on the surface. Williams has gone 52-3 on clay since the beginning of 2012, and she owns a 4-0 record against Sharapova on the surface, including a victory in the 2013 Roland Garros final over the Russian.
4. Maria Sharapova
Two French Open titles in the last three years. Three straight Roland Garros finals. 54-4 on clay since 2012 began. A 118-24 career record on the surface (best among active WTA players). There’s a reason we’re all calling her “Claypova.”
5. David Ferrer
Little beast is closing in on 300 career clay-court wins, and he’d have a lot more than 12 titles on clay if it weren’t for his compatriot and friend Rafael Nadal. We think more like 20 (he’s 1-11 vs. Nadal on clay), and probably a Roland Garros title, too.
6. Kei Nishikori
Japan’s No. 1 is a straight-up phenom on the dirt of late. It hasn’t always been this way, but now it is. Nishikori is powerful enough to hit through opponents in the slowest of conditions, versatile enough to create openings and angles, quick enough to run down pretty much any ball, and consistent enough to stay in rallies forever. Are we premature in giving Nishikori such a high ranking among his ATP peers? We’ll likely find out in the next five weeks.
7. Sara Errani
The ATP has its little beast in Ferrer, and so does the WTA in Errani. The Italian has gone 15-3 in the last three years at Roland Garros, including a final in 2012. She’s indefatigable, plays with margin and is willing to stay in rallies for as long as it takes to win them.
8. Roger Federer
The mighty Fed is a Roland Garros champion, and while his game on clay has slipped in the past few years (he’s only gone 21-10 since the beginning of 2013 with losses to the likes of Daniel Brands, Federico Delbonis and Jeremy Chardy) he’s Roger Federer for chrissakes.
9. Simona Halep
Talk to us in two years and Halep might be Top 3 in this list. The Romanian plays a patient, consistency and angle-based game and she’s a brilliant mover. She also reached her first Roland Garros final in 2014 and owns a 42-14 record since the beginning of 2012. When it’s all said and done, Halep could end up with more major titles at Roland Garros than anywhere else.
10. Carla Suarez Navarro
The older, wiser and stronger the Spaniard becomes, the better she becomes on her favorite surface. CSN has gone 38-13 on clay since the beginning of 2013 and 18-6 in her last 24 Roland Garros matches.
Others that probably deserve to be on this list, but did not make it because there is only so much room:
1. Andy Murray
Murray gets no love on clay, but he’s a two-time French Open semifinalist. That puts him ahead of other players that do get a lot of respect for their clay games such as Fabio Fognini and Nicolas Almagro and Stan Wawrinka.
2. Tommy Robredo
The Spaniard owns 246 clay court wins and five quarterfinal appearances at the French. How has he never reached the semis?
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova
The Russian has won Roland Garros, reached the final another time and reached the last eight seven times in total (including last year).
4. Tomas Berdych
The Birdman is tenth among active players in clay wins, and he never plays the latin swing. He’s also a former Roland Garros semifinalist who is in excellent form this year. Would you be surprised to see him in the last four in Paris?
5. Gael Monfils
Extra points for popcorn, but Monfils has underachieved on the surface that should be his best. See his loss to Andy Murray at last year’s French Open…
6. Garbine Muguruza
Big hitters seem to fare exceptionally well on clay in the women’s game, so it’s no wonder that Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, who is an exceptional mover for her size, reached the quarterfinals last year. We think she’s a future Roland Garros champion.
7. Stan Wawrinka
His game is in a bit of disarray, otherwise the Stanimal might have made our Top 10.
More names on the men’s side: Gilles Simon, Fabio Fognini, Martin Klizan…
More names on the women's side: Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber