US CAGNES

There were tournaments a plenty in every region of France, the sport over there was huge, quite possibly the reason why they are a force in World tennis. With a tennis tournament in just about every town it seemed, it was no wonder I was seeing some brilliant shot makers. Playing competition tennis was like shelling peas for them, no pressure, a way of life almost, a part of their culture.

After two days of visiting both St Tropez and exploring every part of St Maxime I headed to the tournament at the US Cagnes Tennis Club. Just like all of the other clubs I had seen the one at Cagnes was like something from a Sporting Life magazine that was a showpiece for the game.

It owned clay, synthetic and hard courts and the clay was beautifully manicured before the start of play, swept and watered. There is something about clay court tennis that is unique because it is a test of patience and tactics.

The harshest critics will tell you that it is a slow surface but that statement is only really aligned to the professionals. Yes it is a bit slower than say a hard court but it all depends on your standard. For the pros yes it is slow, to the rest of the tennis population it may simply give us a little more time to play our shots. I think that's the best way to describe it.

I played a reasonable match first up against a guy who I would have imagined to be around 30 years of age, he looked 'battle hardened'. He served and volleyed and he put me under a lot of pressure just as Brett and Peter did with their grass court tactics against the Frenchmen on the clay.

A 6-3, 6-2 score line was one that I reflected on as almost competitive yet I felt I had played a guy who was simply better. He was a player who could work out a strength or weakness early on in the match and settle into a rhythm.

The funny thing is that with a player who attacks the net at every opportunity he gives his opponent no time to get into any sort of groove, yet he thrives off it. I was always taught to find a way to gain rhythm and the best way to do that was to hit as many balls as I could with repetition. So what of a serve and volleyer ?

Are they from another tennis planet ? I remember in 1986 at the quarter finals of Roland Garros where Johan Kriek served and volleyed his way to a win over clay court expert Guillermo Vilas. The 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 win to the South African confused the hell out of Vilas who spoke of the tactics by Kriek. I believe that Vilas said that his coach told him that you cannot play that way on clay. Fair comment Guillermo.

I was playing guys of a high standard however who had styles that weren't unique but they were quite simply bloody good at implementing them. My opponent at Cagnes was a clever player who took time from his opposition and who was not interested in handing out rhythm as a peace offering to a foreign traveller.