Weathering The Balls
This Fall in Paris was a seasonal 180 twist from the weather found in the spring when Roland Garros is usually played. The temperatures were regularly 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), accompanied by a brisk wind and regularly, rain. Johanna Konta drawing on her rich heritage, (her parents are Hungarian, she was born in Sydney, Australia but plays for Great Britain), explained the weather saying, “Kind of as rainy and windy and rubbish weather like it is at home.”
US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who normally lives in Manhattan Beach, California near the Pacific Ocean, voiced unhappiness about being so cold that she finally decided to wear a bright pink ski parka in an effort to stay warm.
For Zhang Shuai of Japan, Paris was dazzling. She downed No. 12 seed Madison Keys of the US, 6-3, 7-6 in the first round. Then scored a French sweep defeating Alizé Cornet and Clara Burel in the second and third rounds. Though she lost in the fourth round to Petra Kvitová of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4, Zhang explained that being in Paris in the autumn is a beautiful time “…and it is so rare to come here at this time”.
Playing in the less than ideal conditions required a whole new batch of couturier creativity. Layering was a must. For some, long sleeves and leggings were part of a day’s “kit”. So were pullovers.
Hitting with telling accuracy in these conditions was made more complicated by the tournament’s decision to move from Babalot balls that had been used since 2011 to balls manufactured by Wilson that were supposed to enable rallies to last longer. Comments on the balls, made by a number of player, could be summarized simply – It was like hitting a rock. Daniel Evans of Great Britain was Konta clever when he remarked, “…you wouldn’t give it to a dog to chew”. Kei Nishikori of Japan, who defeated Evans in the first round, noted, “…there’s less bounce”. At the beginning of the tournament, Nadal offered, “…balls that are much slower than in previous years and given the cold and humid conditions, they are very short.”
Roland Garros took a number of risks; many proved to be very successful. Changing the balls from Babolat to Wilson can’t be included in the “good move” category.
A Nod To Michael Chang
It is part of Roland Garros lore…In the fourth round of the 1989 championships, Michael Chang of the US was playing Ivan Lendl, the No. 1 seed who still represented the Czech Republic. In the fifth set, Chang was cramping. Serving at 4-3, 15-30, he hit an underhand serve. Lendl was surprised but dashed forward and scooped a return into play. There was nothing on the shot and Chang cracked a winner and subsequently won the match and then the tournament.
This year, the conditions were seasonably cold and damp during Roland Garros. The heavy balls combined with players returning serve from kilometers far behind the baseline, resulted in a flood of underhand serves.
Errani, whose serve was never one of her strengths, even when she was at the top of her game, now plays “somehow get it in” with the service box. After repeatedly going through a tossing and catching routine against Bertens, she added an occasional underhand serve. It is a regular “go to…” shot for Nick Kyrgios, the erratically talented Australian. Since he wasn’t on hand, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, who stressed the stroke “must be worked on”, became the pseudo leader of the “Underhand Serve Team” in Kyrgios’ absence. It wasn’t surprising that the underhanded serve is part of Monica Niculescu’s weaponry. The Romanian has distinctive strokes highlighted by a formidable “feathery slice” forehand. Against Collins, in the first round, she used an underhanded serve but lost the point and later the match, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Michael Llodra and Virginie Razanno are members of the French Underhand Serve alumni group. Even more illustrious was Martina Hingis. Ten years after Chang’s “underhand-er” became legend, the Swiss star used it in an attempt to halt her 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 disintegration in the 1999 final against Stephanie Graf of Germany…and actually saved a match point.
