Although professional tennis is played on a variety of surfaces, we rarely see that variety on a given day. Tournaments are contested on a single surface for months, then switch courts entirely for an extended tract of time.
But there are exceptions in the 11-month calendar, as one might hope. Each February, a series of clay tournaments is held in Latin America amidst indoor hard-court action in North America and Europe. Nicolas Almagro has owned this swing this year, winning Costa do Sauipe and Buenos Aires back-to-back. He's looking to make it three tournaments in a row with Acapulco, where he's reached the semis.
A reason for Almagro's success on clay this season—really, his whole career—is that he's afforded the time necessary to properly execute his roundhouse swings. The slow surface similarly benefits Stanislas Wawrinka, another player known for his big cuts. He showed them off at the Australian Open, particularly in the fourth round against Andy Roddick, and at times today I was reminded of that impressive display. But Wawrinka couldn't take complete advantage of the slow surface; by the end of his straight-sets loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov, I recalled another recent match of his, a desultory, error-filled showing against Roger Federer in the Aussie quarters.
After Dolgopolov sliced and spun his way to a 6-4 opening-set win, Wawrinka received some gifted games from his opponent. He took an early second-set lead and eventually led 5-3, with Dolgopolov still shaky. But the Ukrainian turned things around before the match could go the distance. He served well throughout; his quick, abbreviated deliveries seemed to jive with the court and often pushed Wawrinka out wide. Dolgopolov also hit his spots at the right times. He's a good mover, and the clay only accentuated this attribute. On the run, Dolgopolov was deadly. When Wawrinka was on the run, it was often near the net, where Dologopolov passed him at will.
All this nearly didn't matter, as Wawrinka held four set points, two before the eventual tiebreaker and two in the extra session. Dolgopolov saved them all—with some help from Wawrinka—and finished the match with, of all things, a serve-and-volley play on a second serve. You never know what you'll get from the 22-year-old, but is it possible that we might see more variety from him on the slow stuff? We eagerly await his grass debut.
—Ed McGrogan