Looking at the line-up of players competing in the quiet, rural town of Halle in Germany and within the confines of the historic Queen’s Club hidden in heart of well-heeled Kensington, it’s hard to believe these two tournaments are among the 40 that make up the lowest 250 tier of the men’s main tour.
But this short, sweet and oh-so-traditional grass court season, which will climax at the oldest and most prestigious Grand Slam in tennis, Wimbledon, gives the men of tennis, from the elite to the lowly, a choice of just four grass tournaments on which to prepare for the dramatic transition from clay to turf.
And because these four are crammed into a fortnight, even the most enthusiastic player can squeeze in only two—but for most, on the back of Roland Garros, this is too much too soon.
Not for much longer. 2014 is the last year in which grass will be so under-represented, so poorly served. The tour is beginning, in a modest way, to get a bit closer to its grass roots.
Helped by a shift in the century-long immovable feast of Wimbledon by a week from 2015, the space between the French and British Grand Slams will extend to three weeks. The existing tournament of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands and the Aegon International at Eastbourne will be joined by a new grass event in Stuttgart, and just as significantly, Halle and Queen’s will be upgraded to the 500 level.
So at last, these two important events will be able to reward its contestants with boosted prize money and, just as vital, bigger points. For the finest exponents on the all-too-short grass season have never been able to pile on the points as readily as those who thrive on, for example, the clay. There is still no space—or time—for a grass Masters, but this small shift may boost the prospects of those who still favour the old-fashioned game.
This year, however, Halle and Queen’s still flourish, both boasting two top-five players. Both, too, have won accolades for the quality of their events. Queen’s took the ATP’s 250 Tournament of the Year Award while Halle picked up the ATP European Award of Excellence for the best fan experience.
London’s Aegon Championships, in particular, has long hosted one the biggest events on the tour, its 56-man draw out-gunning all the other 500 tournaments and matching many of the Masters events in size—though the restricted precincts of The Queen’s Club itself cannot fulfil the demands of Masters status.
And the fans certainly flock to both tournaments. The German event had 12,500 on opening Monday—before either of its stars, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, played a match. Queen’s, too, was bursting at the seams before either Stan Wawrinka or Andy Murray played a point.
Naturally Queen’s has a lot going for it: in Wawrinka, the Australian Open champion, and in defending champion Murray, a home-grown hero aiming to build on his peerless performance on home turf since reaching the final of Wimbledon in 2012. He went on to win gold in the Olympics and then Queen’s—his third—and Wimbledon last year.
But there is also world No6 and 2010 Wimbledon finalist , Tomas Berdych, along with two of the most charismatic rising stars in the game, No10 Ernests Gulbis and No13 Grigor Dimitrov. Add in the crowd-pleasing Frenchman and 2011 Queen’s finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the exciting Alexandr Dolgopolov, and world No18, Kevin Anderson, and this is a truly world-class field.
But that’s not all. The evergreen 33-year-old Lleyton Hewitt, four-time a champion here, is back, looking sharp, and enjoying both a rise in the rankings and his first title in four years at the start of 2014. He is second only to Federer in the Open era for grass titles and grass matches won, and has played more matches at Queen’s than any other man.
In truth, though, when it comes to finals day on Sunday, Queen’s will have a hard time competing with Halle if the top seeds reach their allotted appointment.
Nadal, who flew to Halle just an hour after completing his French Open champion’s duties, and Federer, who has won the German title six times, have met on grass three times in their long rivalry. All three were in finals at Wimbledon, between 2006 and 2008. The last two matches went to five sets—and the last one is still regarded as one of the finest matches ever played.
It’s been a long time coming, this grass reunion, and everyone at Halle will be keeping their fingers firmly crossed.
However, both men face challenges, and not just from the draw. Federer is accompanied by an entourage that now contains two sets of twins—and he admitted at the weekend that he needed to work at getting enough sleep. Nadal may a little tired, too, having played three finals back-to-back in the last month, winning two of them.
As for the rest of the Halle field, it has four other top-20 players including, in Nadal’s half, Milos Raonic plus last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Jerzy Janowicz, and in Federer’s half, the man who beat him in Miami, No12 Kei Nishikori and also Gael Monfils.
Will Federer and Murray defend their titles? Separated by only 100 or so points in the rankings, their success could have real significance. Next year, though, with double the points available, both Halle and Queen’s are likely to have still more to shout about.