The ‘US-Open’ warm ups
View(s):It is now the hard-court season of Tennis in North America. Washington ATP Masters hard-court title went to Juan del Potro of Argentina last week and the Canadian hard court is on now. There will be warm up hard-court tournaments like Cincinnati and Salem before the US-Open, the last Grand Slam of the year which starts on the 26th of August in New York.
Technical changes
Right now, Hard-court specialists are in the US and changing their stroke making to accommodate speed and bounce of the hard-courts. The easily noticeable technique change will be the back-swing of the forehand. This reduces itself to a front of the body circle.The hard-court is the fastest Tennis surface now. There will be no time for a grand back-swing, as the bounce does not reduce the speed of the ball. Much has been done to make the hard-courts slow as possible. Playing on hard is very strenuous on the legs and the back. If one studies the draw sheet of the warm up leading to US-Open, it is noticeable that perhaps the big names are saving
Serena Williams hits a return in her 6-0, 6-3 win over Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium on day four of the Rogers Cup Toronto at Rexall Centre at York University on August 8, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
themselves for the last Grand Slam. New York temperatures can be very high during the US Open. On ‘hard’ players’ reaction is important to win. The ability to read and anticipate the opponent will give the edge for good reaction. Good players restrict opponents with shot section, placement and power. For a considerable time, the service has been a dominating stroke in tennis. The old saying that ‘a player is only as good as his serve’ holds true even today but be reminded that 140 mph serves were returned in Wimbledon this year!
Three types of opponents
The first is the ‘readable opponent’. Andy Murray pretty much falls into this. Going by the results, they can be very effective too. His coach Ivan Lendl was also a player like that. They do not have too many elements of surprise, so they tire the player down within a rally and with a long match. On Hard-courts this approach is very effective. Strapped knees and ankles are a common sight in them. David Ferrer of Spain falls into this category. The second type of opponent is the ‘free-floater’. They have very quick eye and touch-artist type of stroke making.
On a given day they can send anyone home. They are not easily seen now. John McEnroe and Ramanathan Krishnan of the yesteryear are the ones that come to my mind. The third type has ‘artistry, power, variety, adaptability.’ On a given day nothing can stand on their way. The best examples of this are Steffi Graf, Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Roger Federer. Often this is the goal of development.
Road to masters in London and Istanbul
The final show-down of the year will be the Masters in London for Men and Istanbul for Ladies, both in November. I believe it is the annual goal of all top players. Only the top 8 in the ranking will participate by invitation. While the top four are certain of their place, even now the other will rely on the US-Open to earn a slot. That makes US-Open a critical tournament in the road to London and Istanbul. It is the 
equivalent of the world championship of Tennis. Money and Masters – if you visit the ATP and WTA websites they will give a good idea how much money is there in tennis. Some players even with a brief show of success have topped price money in excess of 25 million US dollars as career earnings. They are still in their mid twenties.
Local nationals
August has been the time for local Nationals after Nuwara Eliya was abandoned as the venue in the eighties. Sri Lanka nationals will begin on the 26th of August in Colombo. The junior Nationals will begin on 10th August. The main attractions for our tournaments are the local ranking and eligibility for selection into teams and travel. There is certainly more money now than before. Unfortunately the money is not significant enough to attract overseas players. One tournament gave away one million for the singles winner this year.
Big tennis
Channel TV coverage gives us enough to see and to learn how big time Tennis is played in the Masters circuit worldwide. It will be interesting to know when Sri Lanka will be able to witness ATP masters live. Right now, big tennis is in land mark cities of the world. Cities like Dubai with a futuristic vision grabbed the tennis masters nearly 20 years ago. Now the slots are difficult to come by.
George Paldano, former international player; Accredited Coach of Germany, ITF and USPTR; National, Davis Cup and Federation Cup Coach – georgepaldano@yahoo.com-
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