Rafael Nadal Says Balls Have Slowed The Game at Wimbledon, Not The Grass

As the first week of the holy tournament of tennis, Wimbledon curtains down and as always, the ‘Big Three’ of tennis sail into the second week with each of them dropping one set in their previous appearances this week. World Number two, Rafael Nadal unchallenging won over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round.

Many tennis players have addressed the issue of the green grass courts of Wimbledon being slower than usual, but to Rafael Nadal, perceives it to be the same. The Spaniard feels no difference in the surface this year and over his past 14 visits to the tournament, he feels the turf to be the same. 

“Honestly, the surface for me is the same as always,” the Spaniard said. “I have been playing here since 2003, I don’t see a difference on the surface. When I hear people saying, ‘That’s very slow, faster, slower than ever…’ Every time I am hearing the same. Sometimes the feelings of the players are not exactly the same.”

“For a player who is playing very well, they can feel the thing is perfect. For a player that is not playing that well, they feel slower or too fast because it’s difficult to find the timing out there.”

However, the World Number two mentioned that the balls at Wimbledon are heavier than the rest of the tournaments on tour. In the month of July, London records moderate humidity and due to which the balls deviate from the natural state. These nature factors are part of the game and Rafael Nadal feels, this results in a slow game.

“It’s not the surface. It’s the balls that are a little bit heavier. Sometimes it’s normal because we play on grass,” Rafael Nadal continued. “The balls get some humidity, that’s part of the game. It’s true that sometimes the balls are heavier than the other events here. I think the balls are always heavy here in Wimbledon, no? That’s something that, in my opinion, is the main thing that makes sometimes the game little bit slower.”

With today’s win, Rafael Nadal has collected 51 match wins at Wimbledon and he equalizes Borg Bjorn’s record of 51 victories in SW19. He has conceded 11 defeats at AELTC so far. In the fourth round on Monday, Rafa will play the Portuguese tennis player, Joao Sousa at Wimbledon Championships 2019.