The Clay Court Surface

The French Open is coming on the 23rd. That means the racket bracket is that weekend. The racket bracket is where you make your picks for who you think is going to win. So I thought that it would help to explain the different courts for the slams just to broaden understanding.

Clay Courts

Clay courts are the most special of the 4 types of courts. It takes more maintenance. The surface is a relatively soft. And there is clay spread out on top. In America, the courts are grey or greyish green. I'm EUROPE, however the courts are red. The mixture of the clay is up to the manufacturer but the red stuff has some old bricks ground up into sand. The courts are sometimes bigger for more running space.

Because of this, clay courts are the slowest courts. They favor the most patient, the most balanced movers and the most well conditioned.

The ball normally bounces higher and can bounce crazy depending on the condition of the court. Whatever spin you put on the ball with magnify in the bounce. Topspin will jump more violently, underspin will stay low etc. The boundary lines are nailed into court which makes them raised slightly. When the ball bounces off the line, it can bounce unpredictably. It can also bounce funny off any spot that clay is accumulated.

The advantages of clay is that it is easier on the body. The joints do not get the same pounding as with hard courts. And the clay leaves marks where the ball landed. So you know (unless the opponent hits the ball very weakly) if the ball was in or out based on the bounce and the mark.

ANY type of player can be great on clay though. You just have to use the flow and not fight it. One thing is for sure, clay is for long fights.

Counterpuncher

Rafael Nadal and Jelena Jankovic

The counterpuncher uses the slowed pace and the higher bounce to give them time to play defense. Running everything down, sliding everywhere and making sure to extend the rallies. The counterpuncher on clay gets a bonus if they have a weapon that can wear people down. like a heavily spun topspin forehand or a full mixture of shots. Wear out everyone.

Powerhitter

Robin Soderling and Serena Williams

The powerhitter uses the extended rallies to make the opponent run A LOT. Whatever weapon they have, they want to hit it all day. Sometimes you see them running all over the court trying to hit a forehand ALL THE TIME. Overpower the powerful, wear out the weak.

Serve and Volley

Michael Llodra

The serve needs to have variety. Since the power will be dulled by the surface, a good spin serve is essential. It really depends on your opponent. The volleys will be a lot nicer when they hit the floor and you will have longer to get to the net. Overwhelm your opponent.

All Court Player

Roger Federer and Svetlana Kuznetsova

Constructing points is the key as usual for the all court player. So whatever type of play he/she does, he can use it to get to the net and take time away.

Clay Courts For You

When you play on clay, remember a few things:

If it rains a little, its OK as long as there are no puddles.

At most places, is customary to prep the courts for the next players when you finish your match.

If someone chooses clay on purpose, most of the time they are doing it to mess you up.

Use soft court balls on clay. I carry a can just in case my opponent does not have one.

If you want to learn about technique on TV. Watching clay court tennis is the way to go.

Finding the Zone

The zone is an elusive place. It is the place that you find in any sport where self realization leaves and you just play well. It seems like whatever you want to do you can do it. That 100 mph running forehand down the line, no problem.

The in between the legs winner passing shot you always wanted to try, why not?

That down the line shot from out wide that goes around the netpost, who loves ya baby!

The Zone is different from momentum because when momentum shifts one person plays better and the other worse. In the Zone, it doesn't matter how well the other person plays, unless they are in the zone too.

One thing is for sure, you can't be amazing all day. Fortunately in tennis, if the zone lasts for 20 minutes, you will be off the court pretty fast. Two problems with the zone. Getting there is very difficult. And dealing with it when you leave is harsh sometimes. So lets look at those two cases examples.

Getting there - The best you can do to get to the zone is concentrate. If you make enough successes in a short amount of time, your confidence might get pushed into overdrive...MIGHT. Concentration means paying attention and focusing on the task at hand. No jokes, no commentary to yourself, just think about your plan and execute. At some point, you will have executed the plan so much that you can do it without thinking. If a few more things fall in place (weather, good relationships, health), the zone will occur.

Being there - Once you get there everything will fall in place. Ride the zone as much as you can for as long as you can. While you are there though, it doesn't hurt to let your opponent know how great you are feeling...indirectly. Later on in the match, you can duplicate this behavior when you are just playing well and not in the zone and you might scare the mess out of him/her. A really offensive bully type player might crumble. It might not work so well if the player really loves a good fight (like me).

Falling out - When you fall out of the zone it is rough. It's like losing all your money in a gamble, you just didn't see it coming and now you have to regain your poise and start again.

The big problem many people have is that they place their value as a player on how they play in the zone and not how they play when they are having problems. So when they hit the zone they say "now I'm playing like I NORMALLY play." Once they fall out of the zone they spend their whole match trying to find it again or "play normal." The problem is that they put way too much stock on how well they play and go for more shots instead of working their way slowly back up to the zone. So next time you fall out of the zone, back off a little on your shots to find how confident you are and work your confidence up again. You might not find the zone again, but at least you won't make as many unforced errors.