how come Murray doesn't do better on clay?
Scott
Spain when he was 15.
Murray is a proverbial backstop, returning just about everything. He
is uber-defensive. He has a tendency to wait and wait and wait,
content to return the ball and wait for his opponent to make a
mistake.
so why is Murray never in contention for a clay court title?
TT
A great clay courter needs ability to hit winners on a slow surface.
--
"Ave Rafa, morituri te salutant!"
kaennorsing
Yes, and not allowing opponents to hit winners or dictate play.
Therein lies the problem with Murray. He can't hit the ball with
enough velocity consistently to be a force on clay. It's not part of
his natural ability to hit with enough force and spin. And when you
allow the opponent - on a slow surface like clay - to take big cuts at
the balls that's exactly what they're gonna do and you're always
playing catchup from there. Impossible to keep up.
Scott
nice post. However, it still is hard to accept that there are many
players better than the world #5, one of the few people who can beat
Roger or Rafa in an ATP match.
Joe Ramirez
But Murray would not be ranked no. 5 if all his matches were played on
clay. The ranking, in his case, is misleading, so you can't use it as
the starting point for determining who's "better" than he is on clay.
If you look at all the French Open winners of the open era, it will be
abundantly clear that the optimum playing style for success on slow
clay is heavy topspinning (Borg, Nadal, Vilas, etc.). Next best is
flat hitting (Lendl, Courier, Agassi, etc.). Multispinning can work if
the multispinner is aggressive, i.e., goes for winners regularly and/
or attacks the net (Federer, Nastase, Panatta, Rosewall, etc.). But
*passive* multispinning is useless on clay. Murray is a passive
multispinner, so of course clay is a formidable challenge for him.
Scott
>
nice post. however, you don't mention Wilander. Wilander was just a
human tennis machine. He's the champ that Murray could be.
then there's Canas. not a champ, but at times could be dangerous.
However, Murray never is a threat, ever.
felangey
Therein lies the problem with Murray. He can't hit the ball with
enough velocity consistently to be a force on clay. It's not part of
his natural ability to hit with enough force and spin. And when you
allow the opponent - on a slow surface like clay - to take big cuts at
the balls that's exactly what they're gonna do and you're always
playing catchup from there. Impossible to keep up.<
There is definitely a deficiency there with Murray on the slow stuff...I'm
just not sure it is all about force and spin.
Obviously his lack of a consistant agressive weapon is a big problem. I have
a feeling, however, that he doesn't move right on clay. I listen to his HC
matches...and there is screeching and scrrrkkking of shoe rubber as he
thunders back and forth doing his backboard thing. I think he relies alot on
explosive movement, for which he can't quite adapt to the lack of traction
on clay.
In theory, he is a player that can have a very low UE count when playing
well...and can retrieve right up there with the best....so he "should" be
able to out-rally opponents. Of course that only works until the opponents
can rally harder, faster and with more consistancy than him....*and* they
have a big weapon. If his explosive movement hindrance is added to this
mix...he's pretty snookered.
All that said, I though he looked pretty decent at RG last year in parts.
Seemed better on that harder, drier clay....and certainly shouldn't have
lost that match to Gonzo.
It's all about how RG plays this year methinks.
kaennorsing
Both Wilander and Canas are relatively small players though, while
Murray is pretty big. A big player should dictate play more to have a
chance on clay. Like Kuerten.
kaennorsing
Interesting. I have this image of Murray with his relative short legs
for his body size and tight back, keeping his legs further in than
most guys when scrambling. Basically having a relative shorter range
in his legs and not being as agile as some of the other top players.
I'm afraid it's in part a deficiency in his athletic ability. The same
reason he hasn't really done great on grass as well.
But yes, I think last years speed of RG clay should help his chances.