It is that time of the year….the tennis circuit is shifting to European surface. Everyone is excited about the red clay season. Perhaps I am a bit subjective on this topic, considering that I grew up on red clay and it is still my favorite surface, but who can resist all the beautiful places that ATP and WTA caravan is going to travel to in April and May.
The first tournament is starting in only couple of days, the great Monte Carlo Master 1000, where we are going to see all the top players. Novak Djokovic has been on site for almost two weeks, so he is for sure the favorite to win the title. On the other hand there is always the King of Clay Courts, Rafa Nadal and who knows what we can expect from him. Roger Federer was originally not planning to play Monte Carlo, but changed his mind early this week. He received WC and is now directly into main draw.
What can we learn about watching tennis on clay court (even if just on TV)? Observe as to how the points are being played, and how constructive the game is. By doing that we can pick up many strategy tips. In the next two months expect to see lots of high topspin, short angles, drop-shots and more baseline play. Let’s try to adopt some of the heavy topspin on hard-courts as well, the opponent will be surprised by the change and we will win points we normally do not.
In in case you are lucky enough and get to travel to Europe for clay tournaments, make sure to catch either Barcelona, Madrid, Rome or Paris-French Open. Join historical sightseeing with the best tournaments in the world. And if you do not end up going to Europe until this summer then make sure to catch Umag, Croatia Open in July. The best seaside tournament of the year!
Happy Spring….make sure to play a lot of tennis. 🙂
