Match point

Chapter 1175 Good Traditions
For a long time, the tennis players from the North American training system have all been traditional hard-court players. There are objective historical reasons for all this.

Tennis, originated in Europe, was originally a grass court, so grass has always been known as the most traditional and orthodox tennis court; later, it became popular in Europe, and clay courts played an important role. Large and small clay courts are all over the continent of Europe. Become the hero of the rise of tennis.

When tennis was introduced across the ocean to the North American continent, grass and clay were still the most important venues, but it was just like the situation after other cultures were introduced to North America:
Fully commercialized.

This is true for movies, it is true for literature, and of course, it is true for tennis.

Tennis has always been an aristocratic sport, only the middle class will get involved, and for ordinary people, it is out of reach.

The full popularity of tennis in North America is due to the birth of the hard court. This kind of cement-filled court is as simple and convenient as a basketball court, and can be seen everywhere. With a random racket and an old tennis ball, anyone can play it. Try hitting tennis, even in the slums.

As a result, tennis gradually began to bloom in an all-round way. The reason why the Williams sisters started playing tennis was because their father, Richard-Williams (Richard-Williams) believed that tennis could make money, and his daughters would definitely be successful. So it started from the slums.

In addition, the Nick Bollettieri Tennis School, founded in 1978, seized the opportunity to evolve tennis training into a profession, completely changing the development direction of the entire sport, because for various considerations, this tennis school uses all For hard courts, training methods have also been modeled.

Students from Nick Bollettieri Tennis School tend to have the same characteristics:

Powerful serve, powerful forehand.

Relying on two powerful weapons, you can often gain a firm foothold in the NCAA; and then add a little talent and ability, and you can find a place in professional tennis.

Over time, the players who came out of the North American training system gradually all imprinted with a similar style.

Of course, nothing is absolute.

Each player's own ability and talent are not the same, and the playing style is naturally varied; but overall, players from the North American system often have a typical hard-court style, which is indisputable——

It is not limited to American players, and other players trained by Nick Bollettieri Tennis School are no exception, such as Sharapova, Kei Nishikori, Jankovic, etc.; So is the part, after all, the whole setting and the way it is.

Slowly, slowly, "American players are good at hard courts but lame on clay courts" seems to have become a tradition in professional tennis.

Take a look at the clay court Grand Slam of the French Open, the data is clear at a glance.

Based on the data since entering the Open era in 1968, in the nearly half century of history, American players have won only a handful of championships.

Men's singles, only four times, Chang Depei in 1989, Courier in 1991 and 1992, Agassi in 1999, that's all.

Moreover, since 1999, no American male player has reached the final of the French Open.

To be precise, in the entire Open era, including the champions, only seven American men's singles players reached the final [-] times.

At this time, looking back at the French Open final in 1991, Courier and Agassi, two American players, met for the final, as if it had been a lifetime away.

In women's singles, the overall situation is much better. After all, "Ice Princess" Evert has reached the top of the French Open seven times alone, and is still the record holder for the number of women's singles champions.

Throughout the entire Open era, a total of 11 American women's singles players have entered the French Open final 28 times. Although they are still not as good as the clay court masters such as Spain and Germany, they can already see their overall strength.

However, the two legends of Evert and Navratilova occupy half of the country. Since 1987, American women's players have also declined.

After 1987, only two players, Capriati and Serena Williams, won the championship four times, that's all; It was only once, which once again proved their overall sluggish performance on clay——

Can never again.

Of course, the difficulty of winning a Grand Slam event is extraordinary. Taking the Grand Slam as an example is just a microcosm.

On the whole, the performance of American players on clay is sluggish. This is a trend and a common phenomenon. Men's singles and women's singles are no exception.

Serena Williams has been the only American player to reach the top of the Roland Garros in the past ten years, yet it has always been her worst event:
Among Serena Williams' four major Grand Slam tournaments, the French Open record has always been the worst. The only time she was out in the first round of a Grand Slam in her career was at the French Open.

In the 2012 French Open, Serena Williams was two points away from victory when she faced the French player Virgine-Razzano, but she collapsed amidst the boos and curses of the audience. Once shed tears on the field, he was reversed and eliminated in the end.

and so--

Even though tennis is an individual sport, the performance depends entirely on the individual talent of the players, but it is undeniable that the training system in North America does have a fine tradition.

They are more suitable for hard courts. In addition, the performance of grass and clay courts depends on luck, especially clay courts, which emphasize solid basic skills and diversified tactics. It is obviously a more difficult challenge for players from the North American training system.

No wonder Agassi said so,

"...Anyway, we don't have any special expectations for clay, don't we?"

Sampras's chest stagnated, and he opened his mouth to refute, but after thinking about it carefully, he really had no stance to refute, so his chest collapsed like a discouraged ball.

After a short pause, Sampras still spoke, "But Gawain is different after all, isn't he?"

Agassi turned around and looked at Sampras, "Peter, I know that as coaches, we are just like parents. It is inevitable that we place our expectations and dreams on our children, but you should know that this is wrong."

"Gao Wen is Gao Wen, and we are us. Gao Wen has no responsibility or obligation to realize our unfinished ideals. He should have his own career."

Sampras poked his neck, "Of course I know, but as a tennis player, to perform well in different venues, this is a common goal, isn't it?"

Agassi ignored Sampras, turned back to look at the court, and said calmly, "Of course I said so, but what happened..."

Halfway through, and then there is no more text.

Sampras gave Agassi a vicious look and gritted his teeth, but in the end, he swallowed his words and looked towards the court.

On the court, the sun was just right, Gawain and Graf were running, their attention was fully concentrated, and Sampras involuntarily calmed down slowly.

(End of this chapter)