Plexicushion
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Plexicushion is a tennis surface made by Plexipave, a company based in Massachusetts, USA. According to a technical manual found on Tennis Australia's website, it is one of a number of so called "Wet lay systems" which include Rebound Ace Pro, Laykold and DecoTurf.
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[edit] Australian Open
On May 30, 2007, the Australian Open and Tennis Australia announced that it was to change the surface on which the event is played from Rebound Ace to Plexicushion. The change was completed in time for the 2008 Australian Open, and will be accompanied by a change in surfaces for all the lead-up tournaments to the Australian Open. For a list of these tournaments, see 2008 ATP Tour and 2008 WTA Tour.
Controversy has already sprung up concerning the decision to change surfaces. Much of the controversy stems from the fact that the Plexicushion surface is very similar to DecoTurf, the surface currently used at another Grand Slam, the U.S. Open. Rebound Ace Spokesman Paul Bull has stated that "we had an Australian icon event with a unique Australian product and now we are just going to become a clone of the US Open." [1]
"It's just the US Open surface under a different name, so we will become a clone of the US Open. Same horse, different jockey," said Bull. "This is really just a hard court - it will be exactly the same for all practical purposes. In four or five years...the cushioning disappears because you can't maintain it using this system." [2]
The main distinction between Rebound Ace and Plexicushion is that balls on Rebound Ace bounce slightly higher and slower. Some believe that the U.S. hardcourts are faster or of a similar speed to grass courts[3] whereas Rebound Ace is undoubtedly slower.
[edit] Reaction
During the 2008 Hopman Cup, an exhibition tournament and the first major event to be hosted on Plexicushion in Australia, top Serbian players Jelena Janković and Novak Đoković were ambivalent about the new surface. Janković commented that, "It seems quite (a lot) slower than the Rebound Ace that I played on last year in Sydney and Melbourne. The balls get really fluffy. Here it's indoors, so maybe it's a bit of a different story. I don't know how it will play outside." Team-mate Đoković corroborated this opinion, but added that "When the surface is new, it gets rough and it's pretty slow, but after a couple of days or a week, it can get faster." Mardy Fish's disapproval was more absolute, saying, "I am not a big fan." However, Lleyton Hewitt, one of the progenitors in advocating a change, has endorsed the new surface.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21823655-2722,00.html
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/news/tennis/open-drops-rebound-ace-for-new-surface/2007/05/30/1180205342716.html
- ^ http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/24/sports/professional/62307194125.txt
- ^ http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-7184355,00.html
