“The court has never been so fast,” said Novak Djokovic after beating Jeremy Chardy in the first round, but that phrase has been heard from many other tennis players who compete in the Australian Open, including Rafa Nadal. All agree on an evident change in speed on the surfaces that has been in charge of assembling GreenSet since last year, a registered trademark with Spanish representation, since its executive director and chief engineer is the former player Javier Sánchez Vicario, brother of Arantxa and Emilio. This company has placed its equipment in the London Masters, the Davis Cup Finals, the last ATP Cup, the Rio 2016 Games and the Paris Rolex Masters among many other tournaments.
“I think they have gone a bit,” said Pablo Carreño, already eliminated. “They are very fast. You do a lot of damage with the serve, the ball slips and it is difficult to play. You have to be attentive and try to dominate because it is very difficult to defend, “explained the Asturian, delving into what he had thought Nadal, who ventured to give a possible explanation: “Last year the ball was very slow, it got exaggeratedly slow from the beginning because it opened when bouncing on a rougher surface. I think the solution was to change the ball and not the court. It is the fastest Australian Open I have ever played. Those who make the tracks do them with more or less layers, it is a question of quality. The organization asks for a speed and they try to approach that request. “
Djokovic who, like Nadal, only plays on the Rod Laver, argued the effect this haste on his game: “If I serve well, it helps me. But it is more suitable for high servers. I'm not sure what the reason is that every year the court gets faster and faster in terms of speed ”. The Serbian says that what you have to do before that is “get well.” “If you do, you earn a lot of free points, but if you face a gunner, it puts a lot of pressure on you.” Was the case this Friday by Taylor Fritz, which placed him at number one in the world 24 aces.
Too much change
Another Spanish, Pedro Martínez, complained about so much change: “Two years ago they were very fast, last year they were perfect, slower and more pleasant for the public because the points were longer and the serve was not decisive. Again this year they are fast. I don't think so much change is good. Each season should be the same, what is now is excessive “. The servers have put their boots on, because the ball at more than 200 km / h slides in a way that is almost impossible to control. Kyrgios had 69 aces in three games, Feliciano López 48 and Raonic, who is measured with Djokovic, 56. And among the favorites, Zverev is delighted, he has 50 in four games.