It’s very simple. Taylor Fritz, world No. 12, says the balls in Shanghai are very fast when they are new and that they wear out very quickly. That once they are worn, finishing a point becomes very hard. He talks about “real torture”, according to Championat. I said it back in January.
Well, in January I was talking about strings. But the ball hits the string, right? It’s the same subject. Careful, I’m not saying the opposite of what I said. I’m clarifying.
Me, in Kitzbühel, in ’92, against a future top 10, we played with balls that had seen three tournaments and a game of table tennis. I’m ahead, the ball goes soft as a day-old bread roll, and I win the game anyway. The set is another story, there was wind. But the point, I finished it.
Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Fritz now note that ball quality changes from one tournament to the next on the ATP tour. Three players from the circuit arriving at my conclusion. Thirty-odd years late, but all right.
Jean-Pol, in Kitzbühel, what brand of balls was it?
A good brand. I’m not going to advertise. Fritz, for his part, finds one positive: the courts have been made faster this year, so the ball at least flies a little. In ninety percent of cases, and I’m being generous, that’s what I would have advised if anyone had called me onto a set. Nobody called.
He plays Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. I’m not giving a prediction, I’m giving an analysis: whoever wins the short points goes through.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
