The change in the speed of the Paris Masters courts compared to previous years was immediately noticeable to players and fans, and Carlos Alcaraz gave his thoughts about the conditions.
Although court speeds often fluctuate at tournaments depending on the year, the Paris Masters has generally been quite a slow court in previous years. That made it conducive to long rallies.
The bounce of the courts has not tended to be very high either, which is typical for indoor hardcourts that do not have the elements of outdoor tournaments that often increase the bounce.
Novak Djokovic winning seven titles at the tournament is unsurprising. The Serbian, who withdrew from this year's Paris Masters, is undoubtedly the best player ever on slow hardcourts, and he is also comfortable in somewhat low-bouncing conditions.
By contrast, Rafael Nadal never secured a title at the Paris Masters during his career. The Spaniard struggled the most on indoor hardcourts over the years, and the bounce especially did not suit him.
However, the conditions at the 2024 iteration of the final Masters 1000 tournament of the year are very different. The ball is racing through the court much faster than players are used to, not just in Paris but at any event.
Jose Moron, director of the website Punto de Break, has been tracking court speeds for the last decade, and he reached a startling conclusion after measuring how fast the Paris Masters court is.
He said the courts in Paris will reach a Court Pace Index(CPI) of 45.5 points. That is the fastest court speed since Moron started tracking. The 2016 Shanghai Masters CPI score of 44.4 points is the next closest.
Moron also notes that the ATP circuit has become faster overall, and he suspects that is to compensate for the slower balls being used at tournaments. The balls chosen can sometimes be contentious, with Daniil Medvedev lashing out at their slowness at the Shanghai Masters.
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Nicolas Jarry in his first match at the Paris Masters, impressively breaking the Chilean's powerful serve five times in the fast conditions. Afterward, the 21-year-old described the court as slippery and said he wishes it was slower.
"This court is very slippery. We have to get used to it, there is no other way. For tennis, for the spectators, not having so many exchanges is difficult. I would have played it a little slower, to make it more exciting. Today I felt very good on the court. In these conditions you have to put in more hours."
Managing the court speed is a delicate balancing act for tournaments. Other players, like Medvedev, have complained about the conditions at tournaments such as the Indian Wells Open being too slow, making it challenging to hit winners.
It is impossible to please every player in the draw. Various speeds existing throughout the season would be the fairest and might be the most entertaining for fans. But Alcaraz's preference for a slower court did not stop him from performing well in his opening match.
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