During the French Open I talked a lot about why it is so difficult for the attacking players to win there, and then we watched all of them except for Federer get mowed down in the first two rounds of play. Unless you count Bjorkman's old man grab and dash, it was the true clay court players who did best at the French, maybe even more so than in years past because of the cool damp weather at Roland Garros this year. But now the ATP tour players have had two weeks to re-program their instincts and their feet to play on grass, and the reason this time of year is so compelling for tennis fans is that the cast of characters of likely contenders has flip-flopped completely.

During the French we talked about the Russians (Youzhny, Andreev, Davydenko) and the Spaniards (Moya, Robredo, Ferrer, Ferrero, Don Rafa), players who grew up on the red clay, hit Western forehands, possess the ability to slide defensively, and like to stand so far behind the baseline that you can't see them to return serves. None of them will do well at Wimbledon except for Nadal.

I'm watching Moya right now, in the fifth set of his match which Henman. Moya began yesterday playing grass court tennis. At one point in the third set, he had actually won more net points than Tiger Tim. After dropping the first two sets and looking terrible, Henman stole the fourth and Moya got tight and reverted back to his comfort zone in the fourth. Henman rode the crowd and the momentum into the fifth, where he was immediately broken. Moya choked again and let him back into the set, and dusk fell on them at 5-5 in the fifth.

There are lessons to be learned from watching Moya. He is enjoying a playing resurgence and came to Wimbledon a veteran, wanting to play the court correctly. You could tell he had put a lot of work into his transition game. Movement on grass is almost the opposite of movement on clay. On clay you want to keep your legs wide apart and your center of gravity low. On grass, your feet should never be much outside of the line of your shoulders, because it is so slippery. You have to keep your feet directly under you as you mover forward, and normally this involves a lot of rapid-fire tip toeing and a very controlled split step. Moya was moving this way for the first two sets and taking short balls early, flattening them out, and coming into net. He is a good volleyer and he had Henman looking very old.

Watching the match was kind of like watching a masters series event because neither man is the athlete they once were. I remember Moya in his prime at the French, clad in all black looking like the Dread Pirate Roberts on the red clay, his muscles rippling as he uncorked massive inside-out forehands. Watching him glide around the grass in his whites, punching balls at the corners, his muscles looking like an aging motorcycle dude's compared to Nadal's, I was thinking how great it would be if he made a run in the tournament.

When Henman was young, he had a muscular net-rushing style, not quite as graceful as Edberg and not nearly as fierce as Becker, but effective and all his own. For the better part of the first four sets yesterday, he looked like an arthritic version of his old self and couldn't hit the court with his forehand.

Whatever his preparation, Moya is a clay courter and he isn't that comfortable on the grass, a fact that became totally evident when he got nervous. Henman, buoyed by the crowd, began to attack the net every chance he could get and Moya couldn't get there anymore. Net rushing on grass requires a special kind of timing like base stealing in baseball. Edberg and McEnroe were the skill's greatest practitioners, sprinting with tiny steps to close the ground between baseline and service line and then a split-step like a deep knee bend, momentum still, before the lunge forward to meet the ball, the weight on the inside of the front quadriceps, the contact point two feet in front of the head.

It is now the fifth set, Moya serving at 9-10. He is still serving and volleying on his first serves. Henman has been holding serve well but he can't hit enough groundstrokes in a row to pressure Moya's. Moya is clearly the better player ton the court, but Henman's instinct to come forward, to close down the angles, and his volleying are keeping him in.

Whatever happens in the next couple games there are a few key lessons to take away from the match:

1. Top spin is useless on grass except as a means to control the ball's flight, because the court deadens its bounce and takes the height from it. Slice is absolutely devastating because the ball will either die or skid through impossibly low.

2. A good second serve is a huge weapon on grass and a bad second serve is a terrible liability.

3. Likewise, a good return on grass is a devastating weapon and a suspect return means a ticket home on the first day.

Returning serve on grass requires an extremely short back swing and quick racket preparation. Wimbledon is the only tournament in the world now where you will see professional players go entire games without returning a serve. The court is faster, the ball stays lower, and the players can't move as well. Imagine playing tennis on ice and you have some notion of what the movement feels like. Most players return serve on grass from on or inside the baseline to cut the angle down and give themselves the best chance at clean contact.

4. You have to come forward to win. Even if you aren't a volleyer, you have to move forward, cut down the angles and control the court from some place inside the baseline. If you can control it from inside the service line, it's even better.

All of these points were on display as James Blake destroyed Igor Andreev, a result that was a total reversal of the two men's French Open experiences. Blake has a real chance to do well here. Safin and Gasquet both blew through their first round matches, two men who also left the French on the first day.

Matches of the day today are Gael Monfils v. Thomas Johansson and Fillipo Volandri v. Nicholas Kiefer.

Henman has two match points at 11-12 in the fifth! The crowd is restless on Henman Hill. He butchers a backhand return off a second serve. More murmurs. His second chance. Moya a beautiful first serve and corresponding backhand volley winner.

Another match point for Henman, his seventh. Moya misses the first serve out wide. His second serve is a liability... double fault and match. Tiger Tim is still in.

 

Read Wimbledon 3 here...