Evolution of the Court

On September 9th, 2013, Rafael Nadal was ahead of Novak Djokovic 5-1 in the fourth set at Ashe Stadium in New York City for the U.S. Open. Djokovic had started the match with an aggressive push to overcome Nadal by pure force, but the resolute Spaniard quickly made it clear he was the dominant tennis player on the court. Light bulbs from cameras flashed incessantly throughout the stadium as Nadal went to serve the final serve. The crowd had been getting rather raucous all night, considering the strict silence policies enacted by officials during matches. When the winning point had been delivered, Nadal took the victory in the most gentlemanly of manners as do all the great tennis players: he was completely diffused of all energy, and despite his win, appeared almost defeated with relief from the sheer emotional and physical toil of the match.

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The two men had squared off against one another 36 times in the past, and to see some kind of closure in the competition is surely a breath of fresh air for the both of them. But then that is what makes the game such an enticing and alluring one. Though they shall part ways for now, the fact that these two could be looking across the court at one another next year is still an exciting prospect for anyone who follows the sport.

Tennis has always been a mental and physical game. The internal focus needed to endure hours of play is vital, and when two players go head-to-head and are readily aware of how the other will counteract certain modes of play, then the game becomes that much more engaging and exciting. Players are constantly required to adapt and readapt to the changing styles of their opponents, going through months and months of training before ever setting out to win titles. Artistry has always been a defining character for greats of the game, yet the match between Nadal and Djokovic revealed two players who had seemed to have lost the aesthetic of tennis, and were instead determined to crush one another with brute forehands and dizzying serves. Even Nadal’s fingers were all taped up, resembling more a prizefighter than a tennis player.

The game has definitely evolved since the days of Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg. They were heated and exciting, of course, but there seemed to be more of a graceful, acrobatic-like air to the way the veterans played the game. The players of today are taking the sport of tennis to new levels of intensity, and judging by the atmosphere at Ashe Stadium that night, people love it.

For more information on the evolving nature of tennis, take a look at the homepage of Tom Phanco.