The 2016 edition of Wimbledon is here.
Will Novak Djokovic win his fifth Major in a row?
Will anyone stop Serena Williams?
Will there be a new Major winner on either side?
All these questions and more will be answered in the next two weeks on the grass courts of the most prestigious tournament in history of tennis. As usual, stay tuned to Mertov’s Tennis Desk for insightful posts.
More importantly —-> Click here to follow MT-Desk on Twitter for frequent, live updates from the grounds.
Here are a few pictures to wet your appetite. No Centre Court, the Henman Hill, or the crowds. Just calmness and beauty reigning at Wimbledon, less than two days before the mayhem begins.
Spectators who arrive by tube will walk along Wimbledon Park Road to get to the grounds.
Court 2, the biggest stadium court behind Centre and No. 1
And a few outside courts…
Notice how green they are… for now!
May be the best grass courts ever. Limagrain seeding outdoes themselves every year! Notice at the end of the tournament from year to year that there seems to be more grass. Ultimate goal – no dirt…. hehe – fantasy but good goal.
Of course – a lot depends on weather. In 2013 a wet/cold spring caused a lot of moisture and unsettled ground. 2010 was hot and relatively dry spring = dust bowl by the end of the tournament.
Twitter: drew @tenniscrier
The courts did not fare that well last year Drew 😉 Check out my articles (with pictures showing their progress) from the 2015 Wimbledon..
I just did – that was actually really strong compared to previous years. Check out pics from the dustbowl of 2010 when Nadal won on a dirt court.
Grass will always be effected by weather – Winter Spring Summer – and there still is no way to keep the players from killing it with the brutal baseline games of today. But for sure the Seeding and Maintenance is improving every year.
Btw, I like your pics and attention to the surface! The place to look is the service box and net. That is getting better every year. And not because people are volleying less. They actually may be coming to the net more now than 2010. But either way, the grass is improving. Unless the tactics/off court regimens/strings/balls change it’s going to be hard to keep grass on the baseline.
So far this year actually seems a little worse from the tv, but I’m not sure. If it is worse then it’s the weather. My contact at Limagrain said it was a rough spring for growth. And all the rain recently. Still, it’s better than 2013 when everyone was slipping and getting injured.
Lastly, can you tell me more about RoeHampton courts? I have heard repeatedly from player/coaches that RoeHampton is a bit of a nightmare. I have emailed with the tournament officials and the crew there and was told repeatedly that its exactly like Wimbledon. I dont buy it. Do you know the “truth” about the issue with these courts?
Roehampton and Wimbledon courts are definitely NOT alike (of course when they say “exactly alike” you would need to know what they “exactly mean”, because they certainly don’t play alike and and worlds apart in terms of quality, the players and coaches are right. But they could have meant “the composition is exactly alike” which would be technically true, but that doesn’t mean that they are as well taken care of or “exactly alike” in the general sense). Here is a picture of a practice court at Roehampton.. And that was before the first round began..
https://twitter.com/MertovsTDesk/status/745191875691319296
Thanks Mertov! Can you tell me about WHY its so bad? Weeds? And why is it ripping up so easy. The newer seeding should help (different cultivars of ryegrass). And I would think they would still want to take care of it – it’s still wimbledon…?
I really do not know Drew, sorry. I know there is quite a difference between the courts at Aorangi Park practice courts and the actual match courts (practically every player says so). You are more likely to get info quicker than I would ever be. It is not really my area of expertise other than the feel of it for a competitor.
Well I just put out a tweet you would like. I speak the truth. The Wimby courts not holding up as well this year. Dirt starting to appear in service boxes. first time since 2013. Problem isn’t the seeding. This has been the worst weather and pre-weather since ’13. That is still a huge factor. It’s a delicate process of enough sun and enough moisture – not too cold – not too hot.
Even for all the rain – it’s still not as slippery as ’13 and dirty as ’10. That’s a tribute to the seeding.
http://www.tennisforum.com/34-russian-roulette/499057-ekaterina-alexandrova-15.html
Just some quick shots I ran across of Roehampton.. This is the last QR and after a rainout day. Looks pretty good for roehampton – or at least compared to the pics you showed me.
what do you think?
Never mind . Strike that.. The more I looked the more I saw chunks of the court everywhere. You never see that on the main courts. That’s nuts. It’s not old school fescue(like boodles) – easy to see. But it’s definitely not maintained like the main courts. My guess is the prep of the soil and the compaction. How much more time would it take?? Im going to check with some of my contacts – especially the seed guy – he may have some insight