Are conditions to blame for Pegula’s Australian Open loss?

MELBOURNE, Australia — American world no. 6 Jessica Pegula usually loves playing in Melbourne. She is an aggressive hitter who uses her racket head speed to generate tremendous power and push her opponents around the court.

The Australian Open is her best Grand Slam in terms of consistency; she has reached the quarterfinals here three times, whereas she has only reached, or passed, that mark four times at all other Slams combined.

So when she was soundly beaten by unseeded Serbian Olga Danilovic in the third round on Friday night, it raised eyebrows.

Pegula said conditions were drastically different on a chilly evening at Rod Laver Arena compared to other courts, declaring that the featured stadium was “slower than a clay court” – no small feat considering the ferocious blue surfaces of Melbourne Park usually is quite lightning fast.

In general, grass courses are the fastest on the tour; a lack of friction means that shots – especially serves – shoot through without losing much momentum. Hard courts, such as those used at the Australian and US Open, are usually the second fastest, with slight differences noticeable depending on the hard court material, followed by clay, with its grippy, cracked texture that lends itself to slower play, more topspin and fewer winners.

“The conditions were so slow. It was slower than a clay court, it felt like. The balls were so heavy, and I think that definitely favored (Danilovic),” Pegula said after the loss.

“Especially with her lefty whipped forehand up to my backhand, it’s really tough. So, you know, usually where I feel like I can get free points out of returning really well, I felt because she made a lot of high -percent first serve, and then with the conditions slowing down, like my ball just wasn’t giving me any free points, it seemed.”

Danilovic, who uses a little more topspin, agreed that the Rod Laver Arena surface was slower than the outside courts, something that suited her style of play, especially at night.

In Melbourne, it is generally understood that the indoor courts (Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena) can be slower than those outside in the elements. With shade, and therefore lower surface temperatures, tennis on the feature courts can play differently. Then there is the variable that night brings. Cooler conditions mean slower courses.

“It’s not even the same tournament as my first round at John Cain Arena. During the day, on this course, it’s fast. Playing there at night, it’s not the same at all,” Pegula said.

Pegula is not the first top player to notice something different this year in Melbourne. Two-time reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka commented on the conditions, stating that the balls felt “heavy.” not necessarily something to do with the weight of the ball, but something that lends itself to players who utilize topspin compared to flatter shots.

During her run at last year’s Australian Open, Sabalenka was broken just six times through her seven matches en route to her second title in two years. Her blistering style of play was nearly unstoppable, and her tour-leading forehand shot speed was a major reason for that. This year, through three matches, she has already been broken 10 times. She indicated that a combination of court and ball conditions probably did not suit her best style of play.

“The conditions are pretty heavy for servers. It doesn’t give you the big advantage that normally, yeah, balls are heavy. The courts are a little bit slower. You just have to put the serve in sometimes and just rally,” she said.

However, not all top players agree. No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek hadn’t noticed any difference in pitch or ball speed from previous years, but maybe that’s because she leads the WTA in topspin revolutions per minute (RPM), the not-so-secret behind her success on clay, and something that this year’s Australian Open conditions might be a better fit.

“I haven’t noticed that the pitches are slower. So to me they’re fast anyway. The balls… I remember last year I felt like in the beginning when they were new they were flying like bullets. You couldn’t really control them, well, they were just so quick in the air that I don’t feel this this year,” she said after her third-round 6-1, 6-0 win over Emma Raducanu.

“Still, they’re really dynamic and jump off the pitch pretty quickly. No, I mean, I wouldn’t say there’s that much of a difference.”

And Mr. No. 2, Carlos Alcaraz, said that while the temperature on the court may have had an effect on ball speed in his first three games, nothing stood out for him at the courts.

“The ball got a little bit faster with the heat. I would say that’s why everything was a little more difficult than the previous games. But I think it wasn’t because of the pitch. It wasn’t because of Rod Making . I found it just like other courts,” Alcaraz said.

No wonder 22-time Slam winner Rafael Nadal used to request day matches as long as he could in Australia; apart from thriving under the sun, the extra bounce on warmer courts particularly suited his propensity to generate topspin on his shots.

For Pegula, maybe next year she’ll get in the ear of Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley with a message: Day sessions only, please.