Bates was on tour between 1980 and 1996. He rarely played on a slow court.
“In that period of time, there were two completely separate tours,” he explained.
“You had all the players who played on the clay, and then you had everyone else who played on the fast courts and the only time you would see the clay court players would be at the French [Open] and the only time we would see them would be at Wimbledon and the other Slams.
“All the indoor courts we played on were super slick. It was a question of how quick you could get to the net.”
“Most of the top 20 were serve-volleying. Some were playing from the back of the court. That’s what actually made it interesting to watch because you had two completely contrasting game styles, and now you are in a situation where the vast majority of players you watch just cancel each other out.”
Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams, says the move to slow down the courts “killed a generation of serve and volley players”.
“But I think it is better for the game because otherwise you would have too many aces and serve winners, which I think is very boring,” he said.
“If you think about it, tennis is very slow. Ace is one second of play, and 30 seconds of wait on tour, which is crazy when you think about it – especially in today’s world when consumers don’t wait that much, and when there is no action you lose them.
And what if the Cincinnati tournament tried to increase their court speed still further?
“We would hear it, we would definitely hear it from the players,” Moran continued.
“I think we were a little bit faster than normal last year. Players were telling us we were wicked fast last year – almost like ice. I don’t know if we could get much faster than we were last year.”
“In my mind great points, point construction, rallies – I think that’s what the fans are looking for.”
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