Jack Draper, Alexander Zverev give verdict on ‘very fast’ Cincinnati Open courts
Fans watching the Cincinnati Open this week should not expect to watch “the best tennis in the world” – with the court speed making life difficult for some players.
In recent years there has been a trend where courts have generally become slower, perhaps most notably at Wimbledon.
This has attracted debate about whether there is enough differentiation between surfaces and tournaments – though it seems unlikely that Cincinnati will be in that debate.
The combined Masters and WTA 1000 event appears to have some of the fastest courts in tennis, and some players have had issues handling their sheer speed.
Among those to get their fair share of play in on them is British No 1 and world No 28 Jack Draper, who has picked up two three-set wins so far.
Draper beat Jaume Munar in round one before an upset win against ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas fired him into round three.
“The Cincinnati courts are the fastest I have ever played on in my life,” said Draper, who is making his tournament debut.
“I won the match because of the way I competed, my determination to win. I managed to show it in the important moments.
“All players are used to playing on slow courts, when you are served, you see the ball above you. There are a lot of mistakes that few players usually make.
“It will not be the best tennis in the world, but taking your chance makes the difference.”
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Draper may have been a Cincinnati rookie heading into this year’s tournament, but those who have plenty of experience at the tournament have also highlighted how fast they are.
Alexander Zverev won the title in 2021, and the world No 4 comes into this year’s event as one of the favourites for the title.
The third seed made light work of his round two match against Karen Khachanov, defeating the Russian 6-3, 6-2, and then beat Pablo Carreno Busta to reach the last eight.
“It’s probably one of the fastest courts we play this year,” commented the third seed.
“Conditions are very, very fast here. I think the ball is going through very, very quickly in the air. It’s sometimes difficult to control the ball… it really takes time to get used to.”
The speed of the courts means that all players may have to put plenty of work in on-site at Flushing Meadows ahead of the US Open.
The courts in New York are considered on the slower side, so will likely prove a different prospect to those in Cincinnati.
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