It may be short and sweet, but tennis’ grass-court season delivers huge entertainment with its blink-and-you’ll-miss-them rallies and serve-and-volley action – a complete contrast to the clay court game, where determination and perseverance are just as vital as technical ability.
Headlined by Wimbledon, which in 2023 will see its finals played across the weekend of July 15-16, the grass-court season sees a particular type of player thrive – but not, as you might suspect, just big servers… Novak Djokovic has won six of the last eight editions of the men’s singles, and his serve would not be described as the major strength of his game.
So what are the skills and weapons that a grass-court tennis player needs?
Hitting the Lines
There are plenty of people out there who bet on Wimbledon, with the tournament a perfect time to use a betting promotion such as a bet365 bonus code, which hands the user a stack of bet credits that they can then use to back their favorite players – such as Djokovic, who is the 4/6 leader in the men’s singles odds ahead of Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.
The temptation is to back those players with a big serve – the ace merchants whose bombs pick up speed as they slide off the grass surface. But there’s a reason why the likes of Ivo Karlovic or John Isner, two of the biggest servers of all time, never lifted the Wimbledon trophy… namely, the holes in the rest of their game.
So instead, it’s perhaps savvier to look out for players with a strong all-court game and a serve that is often unreturnable – that doesn’t necessarily mean a glut of aces, but those capable of hitting lines and tight angles and making life very difficult for their opponent.
Move Your Feet
The last four men’s singles champions at Wimbledon share one thing in common: excellent movement.
Roger Federer was balletic across the grass at SW19, while Djokovic’s footwork enables him to reach balls others simply can’t. Even Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray, whilst not the most graceful in full flight, still had the agility and speed across the ground to turn defense into offense.
There’s a lot of lateral footwork required on the grass but also vertical movement – the serve-and-volley is a common change-up for many players, while hunting down drop shots is another vital skill that can turn lost points into winners.
Master of Defense
One of the reasons that Djokovic and Murray have done so well on the grass is that they are both outstanding defensive tennis players.
That’s evident in the number of balls they return and the number of lost causes they turn into cheap winners, but it’s not just footwork and sheer force of will that makes them so good – it’s shot selection too.
Notice how often Djokovic hits a sliced backhand – it’s not a coincidence, it’s a tactic the Serbian uses to slow down rallies, get himself back into position and act as a ‘reset’ point from which he can get on top of his opponent once more.
The temptation of some is to simply try and hit as many winners down the line as possible – but not Djokovic, who recognises the need to mix up his offense with risk-free defense.
Given that he’s won Wimbledon on seven occasions – and counting, maybe Djokovic is the ideal model for the perfect grass-court player.