Many Stylists Transforming Clay-Court Tennis
Nadal built his clay court empire from the same foundation laid down by such clay court greats as Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Thomas Muster, Jim Courier, Sergei Bruguera, and Juan Carlos Ferrero. It was a highly physical model, predicated most of all on the ability to wear down opponents with depth, consistency, and movement. For all the extraordinary shots Nadal frequently came up with, his success, and that for those cited above, was largely built on patterns and predictability. Exhibit A for the prosecution: Nadal’s crosscourt forehand.
There are two ways to overcome this highly reliable playing style. One is to do it better, as Borg did when he repeatedly beat Vilas. Consider ’24 Roland Garros finalist Alexander Zverev a contemporary version, who in his second round loss to Matteo Berrettini came up on the short end of a 48-ball rally. Monte Carlo semifinalist Alex de Minaur—a citizen of both Spain and Australia—plays somewhat similarly, his game based on tremendous footspeed. While less powerful than Zverev, de Minaur has an ability to take time away by hitting the ball early.
Another way to overcome the attrition-based baseliner is to innovate and trot out a wide range of speeds, spins, and shots. Alcaraz, Musetti, Arthur Fils, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina are just a few of the current crop of stylists who have transformed clay court tennis. While these players can sustain their share of long rallies, they are also eager to explore the dimensions of the court with power and angles, aggression and touch. For these kinds of players, the motto is: Grinding only carries you so far. The time has come to create.
