By Chris Oddo | Monday, June 16, 2014
Grass-court tennis isn't what it used to be, but it's still awesome, and we found that out this week in Queen's, Halle and Birmingham.
Photo Credit: Mike Hewitt/ Getty
After three months of grinding on the subdued hue of crushed red brick, the freshly manicured lawns of England and Germany revealed themselves like sparkling oases last week, breathing new life into tennis season just in time for summer.
Video: Stepanek and Lopez Play the Grass-Court Point of the Year at Queen's Club
Like a brief interlude with a long sought after lover, tennis’ grass-court season rolls in and rushes out so fast that we never even have time to contemplate that we might someday get bored of it. We don’t think about growing old together. We just live in the moment, soaking up the improvisational, reckless, aggressive tennis that the surface facilitates. There is no time for ennui, only the adrenalized anticipation that comes with a wiping clean of the tennis palate and the impending excitement of another Grand Slam.
Just one week removed from Roland Garros, we are suddenly on the cusp of Wimbledon. No Masters events to get the feet wet, no long training blocks—just ready, set, go!
Each season the remarkable transformation that the tour’s best players are able to make in the span of a few days boggles the mind. Suddenly players are hitting flat, approaching the net behind aggressive slice, serving bigger, and laying out for head-first dives! Topspin drives and long, grinding rallies have given way to backhand slice, big, squash shots and a quick-strike mindset. And it is a sight to behold.
Some players clearly relish the switch more than others, just as some players relish the migration to the European clay after Miami more than others. But the grass season is different and altogether more manic because of the short period between Roland Garros and Wimbledon. A mere two weeks is all the players get, and frazzled are the top clay-court players like Rafael Nadal who are served the double-whammy of being a) completely worn down from going deep in every clay-court event in the spring and b) being among the players who need more time to get acquainted to all the nuance of the grass game.
It’s good news for these players that in 2015 the grass-court lead-up to Wimbledon will stretch out another week, but for now, the challenge persists. That much was made clear in Halle this week as Rafael Nadal was completely blown out of the water by world No. 85 Dustin Brown in his opener.
Video: Appreciating Dustin Brown's Surreal Takedown of Rafael Nadal in Halle
Brown has a game that is perfectly built for the grass—he loves to serve-and-volley and he has a predilection for striking balls with little to no topspin that hug the surface, making it impossible for an opponent to do anything but defend against him when he is on.
There are many players like Brown who thrive on the grass, and it is a beautiful thing to see these players work their magic on a grass carpet. Unlike any other sport, tennis is played on three different surfaces throughout the season, and while the game looks the same to the casual observer, insiders know that each surface brings out a completely unique—and uniquely refreshing—brand of tennis.
According to Boris Becker, three-time Wimbledon champion, tennis is a whole new ballgame on the slippery, soft grass.
“On grass, the bounce is softer, meaning that it’s slower,” Becker told the Tennis Space. “On clay courts and hard courts, you sometimes play behind your opponent, as you want to go against play. On grass, you want your opponent to run into the open court because the ball slides away from him, and the players, once he gets to the ball, is likely to slip on the grass. You want your opponent to move.”
At delightfully picturesque venues in Queen’s Club, Halle and Birmingham this weekend, there was plenty of moving going on this week. Feliciano Lopez, the contrarian Spaniard who has some of the softest hands and biggest serves in the game (tailor made for grass success), roared into his first final in a year (that one, not surprisingly, was also on grass). Radek Stepanek, the old-school trickster who lives to ham it up at the net, upset Andy Murray. Grigor Dimitrov, who attacks relentlessly behind his imposing serve and is in the process of revolutionizing the art of the grass court slide, won the title at Queen’s Club. The aforementioned Dustin Brown blew minds and won hearts with his run to the quarterfinals in Halle, while Roger Federer, whose regal and refined grass court stylings need no introduction, won his seventh title, improving his record on grass to a stupefying 125-18.
With a week in the books, the Wimbledon lead-up on grass is already winding down. Many stars will skip the week’s events in England and the Netherlands to make the early pilgrimage to Wimbledon. But fans can take solace in the fact that there is still more to come. Five days from now we’ll all be parsing through the Wimbledon singles draws, but between now and then, if you set your alarm clocks and wake up in time for the action, you’re likely to see some of the most riveting, rambunctious tennis that you are going to see all year.
"You know, no more dust on your bag and no more clay court shoes. Everyone is pretty happy with that,” Dimitrov said while playing at Queen’s Club in London this week. “It's a completely different ball game, completely different mindset as soon as I step on a grass court… It's a feeling I have always had. Even if I was at my worst or not feeling good playing, there was always a smile as soon as I stepped on the court."
Tennis lives and breathes that much more when played with a living, breathing surface beneath it. The season may be short, but it will most definitely be sweet. Enjoy it while you can.