Bates toured between 1980 and 1996. He rarely played on a slow court.
“During that period there were two completely separate tours,” he explained.
“You had all the players playing on the clay court, and then you had all the others playing on the fast courts, and the only time you saw the players on the clay court was with the French. [Open] and the only time we would see it [those that preferred fast courts] would be at Wimbledon and the other Slams.
“All the indoor courts we played on were super smooth. It was all about how quickly you could get to the net.
“The majority of the top 20 were serving-volleying. Some were playing from the back of the court. That actually made it interesting to watch because you had two completely contrasting styles of play, and now you’re in a situation where the vast majority of players you see are just canceling each other out.”
Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ former coach, says the move to slow down the courts has “killed a generation of serve and volley players”.
“But I think it’s better for the game because otherwise you would have too many aces and serve winners, which I think is very boring,” he said.
“If you think about it, tennis is very slow. Ace means playing one second and waiting thirty seconds to tour, which is crazy when you think about it – especially in today’s world where consumers don’t wait that long, and if there’s no action, you lose them.”
And what if the tournament in Cincinnati tried to increase their court speed even further?
“We would hear it, we would definitely hear it from the players,” Moran continued.
“I think we were a little bit faster than normal last year. Players told us that we were extremely fast last year – almost like ice. I don’t know if we could get much faster than last year.
“In my opinion, great points, points build-up, rallies – I think that’s what the fans are looking for.”
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