Green Clay?

Does anyone think that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has the game to beat Roger Federer on the red variety or are both surfaces more or less the same these days?

I only ask because I am wondering how the Tsonga that managed to be outclassed and dismantled 6-4, 6-2 on red clay in Rome only a few weeks ago was able to play so competitively on the green stuff. He was like a totally different person on the green stuff: serving and volleying, hitting clean winners, really hurrying Federer with his groundstrokes. Why doesn't he ever play like that on the red stuff? It's a mystery.

Furthermore, after beating Nadal on green clay at Queens and now backing up this result on green clay at Wimbledon, should Tsonga from now on be considered a serious danger to everyone including Nadal on the red stuff?

I only ask because I am staggered that a guy with Tsonga's ability on green clay has yet to even make one final of a tournament on red clay since turning pro in 2004. Maybe today is a new clay court dawn for the giant Frenchman and we can expect him to be a live threat in clay court Masters and Slams from now on.

Has Tsonga had a test for colour blindness? Perhaps the red clay affects his vision and spatial awareness but on the green clay he sees the ball and court just fine.

Joking apart, I just finished watching the match and I would like to say congratulations to both players for playing their part in a wonderful match that proves that green clay is still a very fast surface that rewards players with the technical skills and courage to play accurate, fast, aggressive tennis.

I truly believe that this year at Wimbledon, the standard of men's tennis from the top players has been exceptional with many highly competitive matches filled with exciting points usually ending with clean winners. Keep it up guys! Only a few more days to go!

I agree the standard has been exceptional this tournament. The grass is playing fast and rewarding aggresive tennis but also giving the chance to defend. A lot of winners are been hit but fewer unforced errors too. There has been lots of serve and volley as well. A perfect balance i'll say.

Simple_Analyst wrote:I agree the standard has been exceptional this tournament. The grass is playing fast and rewarding aggresive tennis but also giving the chance to defend. A lot of winners are been hit but fewer unforced errors too. There has been lots of serve and volley as well. A perfect balance i'll say.

Do you think Tsonga can go all the way this year, S_A? The match with Djokovic should be a cracker.

And what do you think of Tsonga's chances of one day winning Roland Garros?

I knew Tsonga will show flashes of brilliance today but never the consistent brilliance he showed today. After he
Won the 3rd set, I thought he could win if he maintained that level of play as he was just dominating from the baseline to the net.
He can win the tournament as i'll like to believe any of the semi finalist can. As a Nadal fan i'll say may the best player win and if Tsonga maintains this level of play and wins, i'll be very happy for him. I like my tennis and enjoy watching almost all players.
On clay I don't think he can play as well and win on it. Movement is important on clay and grass but though Tsonga is a good mover, clay also requires sliding which grass does not so that will be his problem on clay as he cannot slide and defend as effective why winning RG will be very hard. But for now, he needs to produce his best consistently.

Simple_Analyst wrote:I knew Tsonga will show flashes of brilliance today but never the consistent brilliance he showed today. After he
Won the 3rd set, I thought he could win if he maintained that level of play as he was just dominating from the baseline to the net.
He can win the tournament as i'll like to believe any of the semi finalist can. As a Nadal fan i'll say may the best player win and if Tsonga maintains this level of play and wins, i'll be very happy for him. I like my tennis and enjoy watching almost all players.
On clay I don't think he can play as well and win on it. Movement is important on clay and grass but though Tsonga is a good mover, clay also requires sliding which grass does not so that will be his problem on clay as he cannot slide and defend as effective why winning RG will be very hard. But for now, he needs to produce his best consistently.

Good analysis. I think he has a good shot if he can maintain the standard but consistency has been a problem for Tsonga.

Different skillsets are clearly still required on grass and clay. As far as I can tell Tsonga lacks the patience, the movement and the defensive skills that are essential for a good run on red clay.

I guess clay and grass are as different as they ever were.