Surface Tension: The Decay of Grass and the Erosion of Clay

One of the reasons why Bjorn Borg is inducted among the greatest of all time is because he dominated—and conquered—the two surfaces which require polar opposite skill sets: the French Open on clay and Wimbledon on grass.

The game on clay requires extreme patience, stamina, and perseverance, while that on grass requires quick impulses, sublime touch, and brilliant anticipation. The contrast in the skill set makes it extremely difficult for the former brand of players to thrive on the latter, and vice versa.

When the Swede fell on the hallowed green turf in 1980, after an epic five-setter against John McEnroe, he had established a milestone that stood the test of time. He remained the only player for almost the next three decades to win the Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year.

During this period, Andre Agassi was the only player who managed to win both the French Open and Wimbledon, and his two title wins were separated by seven years.

Only four other players—McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, and Jim Courier—managed to reach the finals of both these technically contrasting Slams.

Twenty-nine years later, when Roger Federer won his record-setting 15th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2009, it was the second straight year—after Rafael Nadal in 2008—that a player had managed to win the most elusive double in tennis. And that was after they had already contested in both these finals for two straight years in 2006 and 2007!

While it is not uncommon for a player to dominate one surface consistently (like Pete Sampras did at Wimbledon, or Lendl and Mats Wilander did at the French Open), it is indeed overwhelming that two people have dominated both these surfaces for a period long enough to be called a mini-era!

Has this period of sheer brilliance and dominance—which has entertained the tennis fraternity by giving it one of the best rivalry of all times—effectively hidden a wider problem?

Why is the field not as open—at least in the Masters Series—on grass and clay, as it is on asphalt? Why haven't players like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, or David Nalbandian achieved the same success on the natural turfs?

The answer, I’m afraid, might go right back to the early '70s, when World Championship Tennis started to spread its web.

It introduced a series of tournaments and attracted big players with the lure of higher prize money, and became very popular by introducing revolutionary concepts like the tie-breaker, colored clothing, and the Year-End Championships.

It was the first association to pioneer the use of artificial surfaces—hard courts and carpets—at a wider level to save the cost of maintaining the natural ones.

Grass requires constant maintenance, from laying the surface to keeping it fresh throughout the season—and possibly the year—while clay requires frequent replenishment of the upper surface.

The first major dent was felt in 1978, when the U.S. Open decided to get rid of clay and laid the brand new Deco Turf, which led to a significant portion of American tournaments to be on hard courts, including those like Indianapolis and Cincinnati, which usually attracted big names like McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

The real decline, though, began in 1988 when Australian Open discarded the grass courts of Kooyong Stadium in favor of the brand new Rebound Ace surface in the Melbourne Park.

Thus, hard courts had covered 50 percent of the Grand Slams, and with the Year-End Championships being held on carpets, there was really not much left in the natural surfaces, as the Australian grass court tournaments like those of Brisbane and Adelaide took their final breath, as well.

Natural surfaces hardly contribute to the tennis schedule today. Grass forms only two weeks of the whole season, with none among the nine Masters.

Even though clay takes away a third of masters series, it includes Monte Carlo, which is the only "optional" MS tournament in the year.

Tournaments like Indian Wells and Miami are mandatory even though they act as fillers between the already concluded Australian Open and the clay court season.

The excess of hard court season, unfortunately, has resulted in a decline of variety in tennis. While the level of tennis has indeed increased, and has provided more consistency at the top, the contrast in styles is missing.

As neutral surfaces, hard courts offer enough chance to adapt your specialized game accordingly, like Gustavo Kuerten and Wilander (dirtball specialists), or Edberg and Boris Becker (specialist grass courters) did during their respective years.

This kept the aura of the natural courts alive, while offering contrasting styles of play at every tournament.

Today, as it stands, the top echelon of the game—with the exception of Federer and Nadal—are specialists on hard courts with an inclination towards clay (Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro) or grass (Murray and Andy Roddick).

It has resulted in an era of all-court players, and it is effectively ruling out the surface in play.

Nadal won Wimbledon in 2008 using extreme top spin to counter Roger’s backhand. Robin Soderling defeated Nadal in Paris using flat and heavy forehands in 2009. Roger utilized his serve on clay like it had never been done before.

The grass is drying away. The clay is eroding as well.

Either way, the hard surface underneath is being exposed.