PARIS — Essentially the most distinguished function of the French Open is that this Grand Slam match takes place on the rusty purple clay of Roland Garros, a beloved function that’s as a lot part of native tradition and custom because the bouquinistes that promote artwork and used books alongside the Seine.
And but, because it so usually is within the nation that claims Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir, the connection between France and its “terre bateau” is a bit more difficult.
This purple clay that comes from a small brick manufacturing unit in Oise, north of Paris, elicits a lot love.
“My favourite floor,” mentioned Stéphane Levy, a lifelong member of the Tennis Membership of Paris, a favourite hang-out of among the nation’s high gamers, together with Gilles Simon and Corentin Moutet, the place eight of the 18 courts are comprised of the identical clay as these at Roland Garros.
“There isn’t any feeling like enjoying on it,” Levy mentioned. “The sliding, the clay in your physique while you sweat.”
However the clay has additionally grow to be a logo of deep frustration. A Frenchwoman has not gained the singles championship this nation so treasures, the one which requires extra grit but additionally extra thought than another, since Mary Pierce in 2000. A Frenchman has not gained it in 39 years, since Yannick Noah in 1983. The final of the French women and men had been eradicated from the singles tournaments on Saturday.
Why?
The reply possible has lots to do with a central contradiction within the dwelling of purple clay’s largest stage. Simply 11.5 % of the tennis courts in France are product of the standard purple clay and most of these are in non-public golf equipment. One other 16.5 % of courts are product of an imitation clay floor that’s just like the terre bateau however performs more durable and sooner than the softer, conventional clay.
Sustaining purple clay in chilly, moist climate, which is widespread in France for a lot of the 12 months, is virtually not possible, and constructing indoor complexes for them is pricey. So most French tennis gamers develop up enjoying on hardcourts, not like their counterparts in Spain, the place temperate climate and purple clay dominate the way in which Rafael Nadal (who gained Sunday in 5 units) and so many Spaniards earlier than him have dominated Roland Garros.
That tennis on the highest stage is contested on completely different surfaces is as regular to tennis followers as fuzzy yellow balls and grunting forehands, however it is among the nice quirks of the game. Think about for a second if the N.B.A. performed 70 % of its video games on hardwood, 20 % on rubber and 10 % on rag wool carpeting. That’s primarily what skilled tennis gamers do, spending the primary three months on hardcourts, the subsequent two on clay, roughly six weeks on grass, after which many of the remainder of the 12 months again on hardcourts.
Whereas the surfaces have grow to be extra related lately, every requires a singular set of expertise and produces a really completely different type of play.
Grass and clay are on the extremes, with grass being the quickest of the three surfaces.
Clay is the slowest. The ball pops off the dust and hangs within the air for a split-second longer, permitting gamers to meet up with it and prolong rallies, and forcing them to play a extra tactical type, grinding from the baseline.
Watch an hour of professional tennis on every floor. In case you lower out on a regular basis between factors, precise tennis enjoying on clay accounts for about 13 minutes, in response to a number of research of power and energy within the sport. That’s considerably greater than on different surfaces, the place the participant returning serve is at a extra extreme drawback and might battle to place the ball again in play.
Exhausting courts are at roughly the midway level, and require an all-around recreation.
Among the many execs, the purple clay is each cherished and loathed.
“I don’t prefer it a lot,” mentioned Daniil Medvedev of Russia, the world’s second ranked male participant, who struggled for years to win a match on the French Open and reached the fourth spherical on Saturday.
Nick Kyrgios of Australia has no use for the floor and skips the clay-court season altogether. Iga Swiatek of Poland, the world’s top-ranked lady, would spend her complete profession sliding round on it if she may.
Profitable on clay requires a Ph.D. in what coaches and gamers name “level building,” which is shorthand for enjoying tennis like chess, considering not solely about this subsequent shot, however three pictures down the road. Studying that to the purpose the place it’s instinctual can take years, and like most issues, the sooner one begins coaching the mind to assume that method, the higher.
“On clay, the struggle actually goes on and on,” mentioned Aurelio Di Zazzo, a coach on the Tennis Membership of Paris. “The longer the hassle, the extra it’s important to use your thoughts.”
The membership, which is lower than a mile from Roland Garros, tries to hold purple clay’s torch as finest it could actually. That torch will not be low cost. Sustaining the courts requires 4 full-time staff, and new clay prices greater than $2,000 a 12 months for every courtroom. Every courtroom have to be completely dug up and redone each 15 years, costing greater than $30,000 per courtroom.
Levy mentioned it’s value it.
“This clay is part of France,” he mentioned.
France’s tennis federation agrees. The group additionally actually desires a French Open singles champion. It’s scheduled to announce a brand new plan to advertise tennis on the “terre bateau” in July. Maybe that may assist.
