The tennis season has arrived on the first massive pivot within the calendar as each the ATP and WTA Excursions put together to transition from the 2 massive North American hard-court occasions in Indian Wells and Miami to the crimson clay of Europe.
The fast-paced, hard-hitting, hard-court motion will give option to the lengthy rallies and grinding techniques that include clay. It’s a unique type of tennis, however gamers immediately appear extra adept at making the change from one floor to a different.
Traditionally, “clay-court specialist” was a phrase heard yearly round this time. For essentially the most half most of these gamers now not exist in immediately’s sport or in the event that they do, they aren’t gamers able to sustaining a High 50 presence.
Laborious-hitting gamers who take pleasure in a quicker sport like Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina for instance have discovered success in recent times even when the crimson filth slows issues down. Final 12 months, we noticed Sabalenka triumph in Madrid after which make the semifinals at Roland-Garros whereas Rybakina captured the title in Rome.
For the Canadians, clay was once a floor that historically challenged our gamers, however that too has modified in recent times. Maybe we are able to credit score Genie Bouchard with altering that dynamic along with her surprising run to the semifinals of Roland-Garros ten years in the past as a 20-year-old.
Learn additionally: Five Canadians Kicking Off 2024 Clay Season
Leylah Annie Fernandez has proven loads of clay court docket prowess, making the finals of the Junior French Open in 2019 and later as a professional, she was a win away from the semifinals in 2022 earlier than harm hampered her in a troublesome quarter-final loss to Martina Trevisan.
For the lads, Denis Shapovalov has made one clay court docket ultimate, in Geneva in 2021, in addition to two clay court docket Masters 1000 semifinals going again to Madrid in 2018 and Rome in 2020.
And who can neglect when Shapovalov pushed the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, to the brink of their 2021 quarter-final in Rome the place the Spaniard ultimately prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3). The Canadian avenged the loss in the third round of the same event the following year, albeit in opposition to a physically-hobbled Nadal.
Felix Auger-Aliassime for his half has made two clay court docket finals, each in 2019 in Lyon and Rio De Janeiro. These two clay court docket occasions have been actually the primary two ATP Finals of his profession.
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The clay-court swing this 12 months may have additional that means and significance for these seeking to signify their international locations on the 2024 Paris Olympic Video games that can happen this summer time. Conserving the theme of floor modifications alive, Olympic hopefuls must transition from clay to grass after which again to clay once more when the occasion can be hosted at Roland-Garros.
Tennis Channel contributor and analyst Gill Gross appeared this week on the latest episode of Match Level Canada and he shared the next ideas on the impression that the Olympic Video games may have being on clay this time round.
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“The distinction between the surfaces it not what it was once,” he noticed. “What I’m most to see is how if results the grass season, as a result of it’s a very bizarre factor this 12 months going clay – grass – clay and there are talks about sure gamers – is there a de-emphasis for a participant who isn’t that good on grass anyway – might they skip it?”
This 12 months’s clay court docket season additionally has somewhat additional on the road by way of the No. 1 rating on the ATP Tour. The red-hot Jannik Sinner might cross Novak Djokovic within the rankings in the course of the clay court docket swing and change into the No. 1 participant on the earth for the primary time in his already spectacular profession. Sinner has 1730 fewer rankings factors to defend over this stretch of the season than Djokovic does with three Masters 1000s and a serious on the schedule.
On the WTA, Iga Swiatek appears absolutely entrenched within the high spot and it could be exhausting to think about her faltering on clay of all surfaces. She leads No. 2 Sabalenka by over 2000 rating factors as of Apr. 1 and is coming into the portion of the 12 months the place she appears much more unbeatable than regular.
Benefit from the transition to the clay courts. You should definitely try the Nationwide Financial institution Open clay court docket Energy Rankings as nicely this week to see who our consultants are backing on this necessary a part of the tennis season!
The WTA’s greatest return to Toronto this summer time for the Nationwide Financial institution Open August 4 to 12, 2024 at Sobeys Stadium. 2024 Tickets are on sale. Get your tickets today!
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