Chapter 1175 Excellent Tradition
For a long time, all tennis players who came out of the North American training system were traditional hard court players. All of this has objective historical reasons.
Tennis originated in Europe. The earliest courts were grass courts, so grass has always been known as the most traditional and authentic tennis court. Later, it became popular in Europe, and clay courts played an important role. Red clay courts of all sizes were spread all over the European continent, becoming a contributor to the rise of tennis.
When tennis crossed the ocean and spread to North America, grass and clay were still the most important surfaces, but it became the same as other cultures that were introduced to North America: fully commercialized.
This is true for movies, literature, and, of course, tennis.
Tennis has always been a sport for the aristocracy. Only the middle class would get involved, and it was out of reach for ordinary people.
The widespread popularity of tennis in North America is due to the birth of hard courts. This cement-poured court, like a basketball court, is simple, convenient and can be found everywhere. With just a racket and a worn tennis ball, anyone can try to hit a tennis ball, even in the slums.
As a result, tennis gradually began to flourish. The reason why the Williams sisters started playing tennis was because their father Richard Williams believed that tennis could make money and his daughters would definitely be successful, so he started from the slums.
In addition, the Nick Bollettieri Tennis School, founded in 1978, seized the opportunity to transform tennis training into a profession, completely changing the direction of the entire sport. For various reasons, this tennis school uses only hard courts and the training methods have become standardized.
Students from Nick Bollettieri's tennis school often have the same characteristics:
Powerful serve, powerful forehand.
Relying on two powerful weapons, one can often gain a foothold in the NCAA; and then with a little bit of talent and ability, one can find a place in the professional tennis world.
Over time, players coming out of the North American training system have gradually all been branded with a similar style.
Of course, nothing is absolute.
Each player has different abilities and talents, and their playing styles vary; but overall, it is indisputable that players from the North American system tend to have a typical hard court style.
It is not limited to American players. Other players trained in the Nick Bollettieri Tennis School are no exception, including Sharapova, Kei Nishikori, Jankovic, etc. In addition, most of the players coming out of the NCAA are also like this. After all, the whole environment and method are like this.
Slowly, slowly, "American players are good at hard courts but weak on clay" seems to have become a tradition in professional tennis.
Just look at the French Open, a clay-court Grand Slam, and the data will be clear.
Based on data from the Open Era in 1968, American players have only won a handful of titles in nearly half a century of history.
In men's singles, there have been only four times: Michael Chang in 1989, Courier in 1991 and 1992, and Agassi in 1999. That's all.
Moreover, no American male player has made it to the French Open final since 1999.
To be precise, in the entire Open Era, including the champions, only seven American men's singles players reached the finals eleven times.
At this point, looking back at the 1991 French Open final, when two American players, Courier and Agassi, met in the final, it seems like a lifetime ago.
In women's singles, the overall situation is much better. After all, "Ice Princess" Evert has won the French Open seven times and is still the record holder for the number of women's singles titles.
Throughout the Open Era, 11 American women's singles players have reached the French Open finals 28 times. Although they are still not as good as the clay court masters from Spain, Germany and other countries, their overall strength is already evident.
However, the two legendary players Evert and Navratilova occupy half of the world. Since 1987, American women's players have also been in decline.
After 1987, only Capriati and Serena Williams have won the title four times in total, that's all; if you add the players who have reached the finals, it's only six more times, and each of them has only won once, which once again proves their overall poor performance on clay.
It can happen once but never again.
Of course, winning a Grand Slam tournament is extremely difficult. Taking the Grand Slam as an example is just a microcosm.
Overall, American players' performance on clay courts is sluggish. This is a trend and a common phenomenon, and both men's and women's singles are no exception.
In the past ten years, only Serena Williams has been able to win the French Open. However, the French Open has always been her worst tournament: among Serena Williams' four Grand Slam tournaments, the French Open record has always been the worst. The only time she was eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam in her career was at the French Open.
At the 2012 French Open, Serena Williams was two points away from victory against French player Virgine-Razzano, but she collapsed amid boos and curses from the audience, shed tears on the court, and was eventually eliminated.
so--
Even though tennis is an individual sport and results depend entirely on the player's personal talent, it is undeniable that the North American training system does have a fine tradition.
They are more suitable for hard courts. Apart from that, performance on grass and clay depends entirely on luck. Especially the clay that emphasizes solid basic skills and diverse tactics is obviously a more daunting challenge for players who come from the North American training system.
No wonder Agassi said this.
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"...Anyway, we don't have any special expectations for clay, right?"
Sampras' chest stagnated and he opened his mouth to refute, but when he thought about it carefully, he really had no position to refute, so his chest collapsed like a deflated ball.
After a brief pause, Sampras said, "But Gawain is different after all, isn't he?"
Agassi turned around and looked at Sampras. "Pete, I know that as coaches, we are like parents. It is inevitable that we place our hopes and dreams on our children, but you should know that this is wrong."
"Gowon is Gowon, and we are us. Gowon has no responsibility or obligation to realize our unfulfilled ideals. He should have his own career."
Sampras stiffened his neck. "Of course I know that, but as tennis players, it's a common goal to perform well on different courts, isn't it?"
Agassi ignored Sampras, turned back to the court, and said leisurely, "Of course that's what I said, but the details are..."
He said half of what he wanted to say, and then there was no further news.
Sampras glared at Agassi fiercely and gritted his teeth, but in the end, he swallowed his words and looked towards the court.
On the court, the sun was shining brightly, Gawain and Graf were running, their attention completely focused, and Sampras gradually calmed down involuntarily.
(End of this chapter)