Why US men can't win on France's clay tennis courts

That means that the ball "has to jump up over the ridge it has made," he adds, which makes it bounce higher, losing almost half the speed it had when it hit the ground.

The effect is magnified because players tend to brush higher bouncing balls, putting topspin on them which makes them travel more slowly and dip more dramatically. The more sharply a ball falls, the more steeply it will climb when it bounces.

The slower pace of the ball gives players more time to prepare their shots, which makes for longer rallies and, many spectators feel, more compelling tennis.

"It's more exciting," says Jo Thomas-Kemp, a coach with the British Lawn Tennis Association. "The players have to construct each point with a series of shots. You see more balls being hit."

At the same time, Ms. Thomas-Kemp adds, the long rallies demand "a lot of tactical stuff, using the court, moving your opponent around. Patterns of play have to be very good on clay."

There are those who say that the peculiarities of Roland Garros's surface mean the tournament is not a true measure of tennis greatness. Of the 13 winners since 1989, they point out, only three ever won another major.

Others, however, see clay as the "great equalizer," as Mr. Steinberg puts it. "Mentally and physically, Paris is the toughest tournament to win," he says.

Top-ranked Roger Federer of Switzerland and second-ranked Rafael Nadal are currently on course to meet in Sunday's final.

The two men are a study in contrasting styles: the austere, reserved Federer makes magical shots of astonishing precision that leave opponents slack-jawed.

Touted as the most complete player in tennis history, he has his eyes on the Grand Slam - victories at the Australian, French, British, and American Opens in the same year. If he wins Sunday, he will be halfway to a legendary feat last accomplished in 1969 by Rod Laver.

Nadal is savage and tireless, sporting shirts that show off his awesome biceps as he races from one ball to the next, never giving up. The current King of Clay, he seems to have ruffled Federer's normally majestic calm: Nadal has won five of their six encounters so far.

If they make it through the semifinals, says Thomas-Kemp, their face-off on Sunday "should be a really great spectacle."

• At Wimbledon, the average first serve for men is 185 k.p.h. [115 m.p.h.]. At the French Open, it is 160 k.p.h. [100 m.p.h.].

• At Wimbledon, the 128 starting men hit about 4,700 unforced errors every year. At the French Open, those same players hit about 16,500 unforced errors every year.

• At Wimbledon, the men hit 2,500 aces every year. At the French Open, they hit only 1,450 aces.

Source: http://www.tennisserver.com

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