Dominic Thiem brings up match point with a crushing backhand down-the-line winner against Rafael Nadal in the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals. Photo Credit: Oscar del Pozo/AFP/Getty Images. Watch live matches at TennisTV.com.
Beaten earth. Another name for red clay is terre battue, but beaten earth sums up the toughness of this natural surface perfectly. Granules of ground red brick and tile grab the felt of a wildly-spinning ball when it pounds into terra firma. It creates different angles, different spins, and different strategies at the elite level of the game. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the current Top 10 right-handed players identifies that they overwhelmingly prefer to serve more out wide in the Ad court against right-handed opponents on clay than hard. [ALSO LIKE] First serves are all about power and direction, but the terre battue enhances two more elements for this specific shot – spin and height. For...
Watch Austrian Dominic Thiem line up a tremendous one-handed backhand down the line for a winner after an extended rally against Croatian Borna Coric. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
Dominic Thiem will look to break Rafael Nadal's clay-court streaks during their Mutua Madrid Open quarter-final on Friday. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.