"Top seeds for last 20 years have won on all surfaces" - Andy Roddick, Taylor Fritz, Andy Murray, and others debate over slow and fast courts in tennis

Taylor Fritz, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray, among others, shared their points of view and preferences on having slow and fast courts on the tennis tour. While Murray and Fritz also debated how the type of tennis balls used also affects play in combination with the pace of the court, Roddick highlighted how the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer have excelled on all kinds of surfaces.

It all started when leading tennis coach Brad Gilbert responded to former world no. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov and said that most tennis courts in the past, particularly in the 1990s, were fast-paced and lopsided in the favor of the big servers and the slower courts were gradually introduced to promote longer rallies and more competitive tennis.

"All those courts were very quick back in the day, remember supreme courts and carpet courts, the big problem in early 90’s with the bomb servers especially if playing against each other no points were going past 4 shots, that killed off the really fast courts for good," Gilbert wrote on Twitter.

All those courts were very quick back in the day remember supreme courts and carpet courts, the big problem in early 90’s with the bomb 💣 servers especially if playing against each other no points were going past 4 shots, that killed off the really fast 💨 courts for good twitter.com/KYevgeni/statu…

Murray chimed in on the debate, highlighting that changing the pace of the courts was overdone. According to the British great, most courts currently on tour are slow and also use slower types of balls, and lamented the lack of variety. He further called for using slower balls on fast courts and faster balls on slower courts, which would add some much-needed variety on tour, in this regard.

"The biggest problem with today's conditions most weeks is the courts and balls are both super slow. Almost zero variety. Why not have some quick courts with slow balls or vice versa? Shanghai was always a bit like this. This allows for all court tennis to be played," Andy Murray wrote.

@bgtennisnation The biggest problem with todays conditions most weeks is the courts and balls are both super slow. Almost zero variety. Why not have some quick courts with slow balls or vice versa? Shanghai was always a bit like this. This allows for all court tennis to be played.

@andy_murray @bgtennisnation This is supremely logical. We need Variety all the courts playing the same speed was never the intention

@andy_murray @bgtennisnation When I ran the Australian Open, there was always mixed views about speed of courts, but players unanimously wanted fast balls, as they suit both the ‘bombers’ (big servers) and the baseliners who need to dictate

American no. 1 Taylor Fritz was in agreement with Murray, further highlighting why he does not prefer playing with slow and soft tennis balls, which is the case quite often.

For me the balls make the biggest difference in speed, some of the slow/soft balls make the conditions so slow regardless of court speed... Lots of times with those balls it just doesn’t feel like tennis, there’s never a reward for taking a chance on an aggressive shot. twitter.com/andy_murray/st…

Fritz's fellow American Tennys Sandgren opined that the change from having faster courts to slower courts predominantly over the last few years was to "protect the top seeds and be more TV-friendly."

@JanmikeGambill @andy_murray @bgtennisnation Wasn’t the idea to essentially protect the top seeds and be more tv friendly? I don’t like it, but what’s the incentive for an event not to do this?

Both Gilbert and Andy Roddick disagreed, highlighting that the top players have proved their worth on every surface. Roddick stated how the likes of men's tennis' Big 3 have excelled in any and all conditions over the years.

There no protecting the top seeds, you still need to win the matches, @andy_murray is so right whatever the court speed is the balls need to be opposite twitter.com/tennyssandgren…

"Also the top seeds for the last 20 years have won on all surfaces. Most well rounded generation in history. I think it’s about presenting variety on a week to week basis. You put Nole on a slow surface.. W. Fast? W. Fed? Same. Rafa won 4 US Opens," Roddick expressed.

@bgtennisnation @andy_murray Also the top seeds for the last 20 years have won on all surfaces. Most well rounded generation in history. I think it’s about presenting variety on a week to week basis. You put Nole on a slow surface.. W. Fast? W. Fed? Same. Rafa won 4 US Opens.

Taylor Fritz faces Rafael Nadal on ATP Finals debut

Taylor Fritz at Rolex Paris Masters - Day Three

Taylor Fritz faces one of the Big 3, Rafael Nadal, on his debut in the ATP Finals on Sunday night. While the conditions presented by indoor hard courts have always been Nadal's least favored, Fritz is aware of the magnitude of the challenge he faces against one of the all-time greats. Fritz and Nadal played two intense matches earlier this year - the Indian Wells final (won by Fritz) and the Wimbledon quarterfinal (won by Nadal in 5 sets).

Playing Rafa is a big deal," Taylor Fritz said in a recent interview with the ATP. "The match we had at Wimbledon was very close. Between the two matches we’ve played, there were highs [after Indian Wells] and lows [following Wimbledon]."

Taylor Fritz will rely on his big serve on the indoor hard courts at the Pala Alpitour in Turin. He is aiming to clinch his 4th title this season, and the ATP Finals would be the biggest title of his career so far.