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LONDON: Pete Sampras built records on it; Marcelo Rios claimed it
was fit only for cows while Spain’s Albert Costa planned his
honeymoon to coincide with it.
Never has a handful of perfectly manicured
lawns, tucked away in southwest London, caused such bitter divisions
among players and this year’s Wimbledon will be no different.
The length of the grasscourt season, currently
standing at a modest four weeks and sandwiched between the claycourt
and hardcourt schedules, is also a hot topic with some players happy
to see it shortened; others want it extended.
Roger Federer, who will bid to win a
sixth-consecutive Wimbledon title over the next two weeks and move
one closer to Sampras’ record, believes the season is fine as it
is.
“I don’t think it should happen [lengthen
the season], even though grass is maybe my best surface and I’ve
had unbelievable success,” said Federer.
“It stays unique to see the French Open backed
up right away with one or two tournaments and then Wimbledon.”
The two-weeklong Grand Slam event at Wimbledon
is preceded by a fortnight of warm-up events, mostly in England but
with one each in Germany and Holland.
Once finished, it’s back to hardcourts and the
long run-in to the US Open at the end of August.
Unlike Federer, four-time French Open winner
Rafael Nadal, who has been runner-up to the world No. 1 in the last
two Wimbledon finals, dreams of a longer grasscourt program.
“The grasscourt season is very short,” said
Nadal who collected his first title on the surface at Queen’s last
week.
“I always say it’s not fair that you only
have two weeks to prepare for a very important tournament like
Wimbledon. But, boy, I never thought of the calendar without
Wimbledon.”
Among the women, opinions are just as strong.
“It’s in the middle of nowhere,”
complained Russia’s Dinara Safina, the runner-up at the French
Open but who made the final on grass at ‘s-Hertogenbosch this
weekend.
“It’s just three tournaments. There is
nowhere else other than England and in Holland where there are grass
courts. I don’t like, so they can take it away.”
On the grass of Eastbourne this week, Russian
top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova crashed out at the first hurdle to
Denmark’s 17-year-old Caroline Wozniacki.
“It’s hard to move from clay to grass—from
very slow to the fastest court,” said Kuznetsova.
“But for me it’s about controlling
movement—you cannot slide on grass.”
Fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, who won a
Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Israel’s Andy Ram in 2006, also
admits it’s hard to make the switch.
“Most of the players are used to playing on
hardcourts—it’s a different game. It’s hard to produce my best
tennis when I’m not used to playing on this surface,” said
Zvonareva.
-- AFP
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