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Grass gets only brief run in sun
USA TODAY, June, 2008 by Douglas Robson
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Grass is the incredible shrinking surface.
Once the dominant playing template on which most tournaments and three of the four majors were contested, it is now a four- to five-week blip on the tennis calendar even though Wimbledon, the game's most hallowed tournament, remains on manicured lawns.
"To have the biggest championship on a surface many players compete on once a year is unique in sport," says Tracy Austin, who will be commentating for BBC television during the Wimbledon fortnight. "It's like running the Indianapolis 500 on dirt."
In 2008, six, or 9.5%, of the ATP tour's 63 tournaments will be played on grass. On the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, even fewer -- four of 60, or 7% -- are on grass. Almost all will be played this month.
Of the Grand Slam events, the U.S. Open was the first to leave grass, ditching the lawns of ...
