“Faster Than Hard Courts”: Roger Federer Compares French Open 2021 Courts to Other Courts on Tour

Yesterday, Roger Federer came through one of the first real tests on Tour after his anticipated return to the Grand Slams. The Swiss ace overcomes a tough and tricky opponent in Marin Cilic at the French Open 2021 second-round match. He won the match in four sets and the match went on for close to three hours. 

After the match, Roger Federer spoke on various topics surrounding the match sequence and there was a particular revelation that caught attention. Interestingly, the Basel-born player found the speed on the clay courts fast and stated that they were faster than some of the hard courts, which are used during tournaments. 

Speaking on this topic, Federer declared, “I don’t know how to explain it to you but sometimes people still think clay is slow. It’s not that slow it’s actually mostly faster than hard courts nowadays unless you go to Cincinnati or Shanghai potentially and a couple of indoor events.”

Also Read: Roger Federer Passes First Real Test at French Open 2021, Defeats Marin Cilic in Drama-Filled Match

Roger Federer states the specifics of a clay court

He also spoke about how different weather conditions can have an effect on the manner in which the clay court surface reacts. However, as compared to hard courts, the bounce can get uneven on the clay courts. The way court Philippe-Chatrier has been designed, allows players to cover the sharp angles if compared to the other courts at Roland Garros. 

The 39-year-old further added, “Other than that I feel like if you’re playing on a day when it’s actually quite warm clay can actually be somewhat on the faster side. Now obviously what comes into play is bad bounces and sliding and you can go back especially on the center court because there’s so much room so things can change there.”

After the win yesterday, Roger will be facing German tennis player Dominik Koepfer in the third round at the French Open. It will be interesting to see how far can the Swiss superstar go at the French Open 2021. 

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