Feet of clay: how world’s best battle to mould their game to the surface

Crushed brick can reduce players to shadows of their normal selves but some, such as Osaka and Medvedev, try to adapt

“I would say clay surface is the one that, not ‘real tennis’, but it’s tennis that depends more on your skill, on your physical conditions, on your endurance conditions, how smart you’re playing, which decision you’re making,” says Andrey Rublev, who has While the Russian’s cerebral and physical, defence-based game has some qualities that are well-suited to clay, many clay-court players hit the ball with heavy topspin, which allows it to bounce up out of the opponent’s hitting zone and provides them with the option of opening up the court with angles. Medvedev’s ground strokes are flatter over the net, meaning they often sit up at a comfortable height to attack on clay. He has had to force himself to put more work and spin the ball at all times.

Even those who have a difficult relationship with clay are trying. Last week Osaka spent some time in Mallorca thinking about how she wants her tennis to look on the surface. After watching videos of Carlos Alcaraz, Nadal and Rublev, she left even more certain that she needs to pair her natural power with more spin on the ball to create a vicious, heavy strike.

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