Australian open 2010 on grass....

swede · Post by **swede** » Sat Jul 05, 2003 1:06 pm

well ok it may sound far fetched, but think it could happen and i certainly hope it will.

the all england club (wimbledon) have very much gone in the offensive to promote grass court tennis. from 2007 the tournament will most likely be pushed back a week or 2 to allow for more grass tournaments to take place and they would like the grass to be exported to new countries.

in 2001 they switched to a new all rye grass, that has slowed the ball a little down meaning its now possible to win by serve-volley but also from the baseline as the the 3 very different australian finalists in a row have shown.

grass has always been the surface for the technically gifted ballplayers, however it has been marred somewhat by the importance of the serve, hopefully not so much anymore. the grass will still provide the somewhat uncertain bounce, not uneven, but uncertain, will it bite or just skid off the surface, and that is its true strength, the fact that you cant produce grass court players the way some tennis schools have produced boring baseline hitting machines in the past. you cant produce the likes of McEnroe like that, the true skilled geniusses that win on grass

the all england club is only thinking about the summer grass season, but if it becomes a success then I hope itll eventually lead to the restoration of the winter grass court season that should culminate with the australian open. Its obviously well into the future, not least because the new rye grass cannot currently grow in a warmer climate but theyre developing it.

once grass tennis gets a higher profile again and the advantages becomes obvious, I think its something that australia would find appealing, after all the deep rooted history of australian tennis is grass courts tennis and then it might happen.
It wouldnt be a problem using the current venues, you just put the grass in a few weeks before tournement and remove it after, thats allready the way its done in halle, one of the wimbledon warm ups.

call me crazy but I think itll happen, tennis on grass is simply the best, but even if it doesnt there will at least always be wimbledon, they will thankfully never ever remove the grass.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Sat Jul 05, 2003 9:45 pm

I doubt it would happen (since Tennis Australia spent heaps on Flinders Park) but you raise a great point. Grass court tennis is fantastic and I love watching Davis Cup fixtures.

I think there is room for an Australian grass court ATP or WTA tournament. Weather and travel are the obstacles but it would be good to see an Australian Lawn Tennis Championships

Same with an indoor fixture. They used to have one in Sydney but costs blew out (early 1990s). I think it may work now because with Hewitt etc have raised the profile in Aust more than it was 10 yrs ago. Plus I worked at the Masters Cup in 2001 and saw how good it could be.

yob · Post by **yob** » Sat Jul 05, 2003 10:38 pm

Where would they get the grass from? I imagine it has to be pretty hard.... maybe telstra dome?

swede · Post by **swede** » Sun Jul 06, 2003 4:28 am

I cant see why they would have to switch venues, just put the grass in and take it back out as it happens with cricket wickets.
It will cost a little but it wouldnt stop it if there was a desire to play it on grass, but right now I dont think there is.

are grass courts still widespread in Australia? is it naturally thought of for davis cup matches or only chosen to beat clay court nations. where are the davis cup matches then played, I would have thought the best venues were used for Aus.open warm ups and therefore have converted to that surface

cam · Post by **cam** » Sun Jul 06, 2003 5:18 pm

While I like grass, I wouldn't like to see the Aus Open change its surface. 1 grand slam a year is enough. This year at Wimbledon, the courts have held up very well. In previous years, this hasn't been the case in the 2nd week. However I still love watching tennis on hard-court etc..

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 1:07 pm

Swede Royal Kings Park in Perth, Is a pure Grass court only grass, Next to Perth Oval there is a grass court, also there are bitumin and hard courts have seen aswell.

The reason I would not like it changed is that there are now four different surfaces for the Grand Slams which is a great evener for the mens and womens tour does not accomadate one particular surface. The Rod Laver Arena will probably have grass court flown in, like most davis cup ties. Some such as Memorial Drive and ANZ Stadium have been on stadiums where no hard court is present. Although ANZ was considered a potato patch by Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Royal Kings Park has been recognised as the best grass court in australia by present Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald.

What about Sweden any chance they will hold a grass court tie, I see Halle in the Netherlands has adopted the grass court mentality, it seems a short season compared to the other surfaces. One surface I believe is not good for tennis is Carpet, I dont think Carpet should be used at all, tennis wasnt made to be played indoors, they should outlaw the use of carpet

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:10 am

I actually don't mind indoor tennis.

swede · Post by **swede** » Sun Jul 13, 2003 2:40 am

Halle is actually in germany (there is another tournament in Holland), but its still a new frontier for grass court tennis, untill recently the only grass court in all of continental europe was at the UK embassy grounds in France.
I used to agree that 4 different surfaces was the best, however I guite simply think that grass is the best and I think it will be more recognized in the future. Is it just a coincidence that the general feeling that tennis is not what it was started at the same time as grass started to go?

In a few years when Wimbedon will be moved back a couple of weeks perhaps there might be room for an australian grass court championship in perth in early june. I guess its late in the australian season, but isnt perth one of the warmer places. the biggest problem would probably be the travel.

swede · Post by **swede** » Sun Jul 13, 2003 2:44 am

as for the grass courts not holding up, I cant see thats a problem. it aint bad but even if it was, so what? who wants the perfect surface? would we ever like to see cricket played on a uniform hard court wicket. most people would think that terrible, why tennis then

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 1:10 pm

Swede, Perth has a wet cool winter, it would be like Wimbledon many rain delays but sunshine in between. It could happen like straight after Roland Garros. Or a grass court could be transferred to the Burswood Dome. In the summer it is too hot and is not good for tennis, the last Davis Cup tie against Ecuador was played in stifling conditions at Royal Kings Park, not good for spectators, I remember watching at home thinking how hot it would be, only about 250 people had shade over them the rest of the people had the beaming sun on them. Swede it could be possible the first few weeks of June this year where sensational clear blue skies and and mild weather 19,20 21. While right now we have rain basically every day. The only place to hold it is Royal Kings Park, as it ranks above all others in quaility of grass court, and for an Australian Championships you would need to hold it at the leading grass venue in our country. However I still like all four surfaces to be used in Grand Slams. I mean I rate Agassi over Sampras simply because he is able to win on all surfaces. Agassi in my mind is clearly the champion. Sampras on clay is like watching Scott Draper or Illie play his class goes down, but for Agassi his class may not be like it is on rebound ace but he still manages to play like a champion and is a previous champion at Roland Garros a feat that is not easily done for Americans and Australians.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 10:32 am

If the Grand Slams become more spread out, there is no doubt that grass court tennis will flourish. But the timing of grass court season in an Aussie winter makes it hard to have a decent grass court tennis tournament at a suitable time. Myeb if it were in a Northern city like Brisbane.

As for Agassi over Sampras, I'm with you Egan. Few people can win on all surfaces. One of those people did.

I only wish Agassi had paid more attention to the Aust Open and other grand slams in the early 1990s. He'd have a lot more wins than he as now.

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 10:21 pm

Its not over yet he could easily win the next three Australian Opens he is simply dominant on the rebound ace, probably the best in the world. Win the U.S Open and he has 9 and he could surpass Sampras in Grand Slam wins in a few years time.

Brisbane need to make the grass court of a higher standard to get any tournament, but even sydney seems to have a warmer and sunnier winter then the southern cities including Perth. The get more unseasonable weather. I would think that Sydney could also win the right for the championships.