The clay court season has taken off from the sluggish first gear, if there ever exists one on clay. The serious business has already begun with the first two rounds Monte Carlo Masters tournament over.

Justin Gimelstob writes over at CNNSI:

This past week, a sport within a sport began: clay-court tennis. What is arguably tennis’ toughest season tipped off around the world with events in Houston and Valencia, Spain.

Clay surfaces offer totally different challenges than the hard-court tennis that dominates the early part of the ATP Tour calendar. Clay-court tennis hinges on movement, strategy and defense. Sliding effectively on clay is an art unto itself. It combines the artistic flare of ice skating with the athletic grace of a ballerina.

The season ends with the French Open, a title most clay court gladiators of Europe consider the ultimate prize in tennis over Wimbledon. Clay courts provide gruelling battles. You cannot win games on serves and volleys. The ball slows down considerably once it hits the surface. So you have to defeat the opponent despite the surface. In a Wimbledon, you would have to grass on surface aid you with bounce and pace after bouncing. On hard courts, you do not have the support of the surface. However, it doesn’t make you toil much more like clay does.

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