Is Wimbledon losing its tradition?

By Motez Robinson, Jr. Sports Central Columnist

What is this? Players no longer have to bow or curtsy when walking onto and exiting Center Court? Baseliners are the favorite to win the title? And there is even talk of doing away with the green turf all together? Say it ain't so.

Wimbledon, the most prestigious tennis tournament on the planet, is going through a few changes -- and they are not all good.

Bowing and Curtsying No More

Let's start with one of the most enduring traditions at Wimbledon -- the historic bowing and curtsying to the Royal Box at Centre Court.

At the behest of the Duke of Kent, the All England Club's president since 1969, players will bow or curtsy only if Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles is present in the box.

Pete Sampras may actually come back to Wimbledon before either the Queen or Prince drop in again. Queen Elizabeth last appeared at the Big "W" in 1977 when she presented the women's trophy to English champ Virginia Wade. Prince Charles has returned since his only appearance in 1970.

"It's sad, but we have to move on," said All England chief executive Christopher Gorringe in an interview with Associate Press. "We know there is very little bowing or curtsying done in royal circles now."

Venus Williams will always hold very dear to her the honored practice of curtsying. After perfecting the technique, she later conducted pre-match curtsying classes.

"It wasn't just Serena," Williams said, I showed a lot of girls what to do. They would get pretty nervous if they hadn't done it before."

Slow it Down, Please!

It was once a sure bet that a serve-and-volleyers would prevail when playing on grass. Even Ivan Lendl, the father of the modern power-baseline game, knew the importance of serving and volleying at Wimbledon.

But now the power baseline game is ushering in a new wave of grass-court contenders who are changing the nature of grass-court tennis with their first-strike two-handed backhand return of serve.

Instead of bold, slashing net play, we now see baseline rallies at Wimbledon reminiscent of those seen a few weeks ago at the French Open. As a matter of fact, in last year's final between Australian Lleyton Hewitt and Argentine David Nalbandian, not a single point was played serve-and-volley -- the first in history.

What has accounted for such a change in playing style? First, backcourt players of today -- bigger, stronger, and faster -- have more powerful groundstrokes and better serves.

Last year, six of the eight men quarterfinalists were baseliners. On the women's side -- and not surprisingly -- all eight quarterfinalists played from the backcourt. Jana Novotna's emotional victory in 1998 was the last one for female net rushers in the last 12 years.

Secondly, tennis balls in general are made heavier and more durable today, thus slowing down the speed in which it is hit through the air.

And a concerted effort has been made to slow down the speed in which the ball comes off of the court at Wimbledon. The grass at Wimbledon has been changed from a 70% Lorrina Perennial Rye and 30% Barcrown Creeping Red Fescue mixture to a mix of 50% Amberimp and 50% Aberalf on a soil of 22% clay with sand and silts.

This combination is better able to withstand the fortnight beating of the championships -- and it has produced a slower-playing court with a higher, more predictable bounce -- just what a baseliner likes.

Tim Henman, Britain's best hope to win the home crown, feels that the slower grass hampers his attacking style.

"I felt with the way I'd been playing in Paris in the last few weeks I could really play aggressively and serve-and-volley [on grass] all the time," Henman said to Rueuters of London, after he struggled past Italy's Davide Sanguinetti, 3-6, 6-3. 7-6 in Stella Artois Championships (a Wimbledon warm-up tournament).

"There obviously has been an effort to slow the game down, and I question whether it's gone a bit too far on grass," said Henman, a four-time semi-finalist at Wimbledon.

He went on add, "Realistically, [serving and volleying all the time] is not going to be the best tactic. You go back a few years and a game plan on grass didn't really come into it. It's making life a lot harder, that's for sure."

The perception now is that Wimbledon is no longer a serve-and-volleyer's paradise, even though is it the only major tournament played on grass (and one of only a few left on the professional circuit).

But if David Lloyd, former British Davis Cup captain, has his way, Wimbledon could become grass-less.

Lloyd, a former tour player, said in an interview with the BBC Sports Online that men's tennis at Wimbledon has become nearly "unwatchable."

He further stated that the time has come for the All England Club to rip up the hallowed turf and move with the times.

"The vast majority of tennis clubs in this country that have grass-courts are wasting their time; they should dig them up and replace them with clay," said Lloyd.

John Inverdale, an anchor with the BBC covering Wimbledon, goes even further to say, "Grass takes a lot of upkeep and most clubs cannot afford the groundsmen needed to maintain it.

And if they are not in good condition, then they are not the best surface on which to teach youngsters how to improve their game."

"It is absolutely useless -- if you are spending half your time worrying about the bounce (grass courts produces erratic bounces, especially after days of continuous play), then that is not going to bring on young players," he explained.

Inverdale also stressed, however, that Wimbledon itself is a different matter. "The tournament is an established part of the tennis calendar for the elite players only. There is no doubt there is nothing better than playing on grass. It just feels much nicer and is the best surface on which tennis can be played."

So, is the era of grass-court tennis coming to an end? Have we witnessed the last of the great attacking, serve-and-volley champions such as John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, and Sampras, who produced memorable matches against contrasting opponents like Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl?

Will Wimbledon remain the nostalgic and historic tournament that just about every tennis player dreams of winning? Only time will tell.

But whether a serve-and-volley player or a baseliner raises the coveted trophy in victory on Center Court -- be it on grass or some other surface in the future -- one thing is for certain -- there definitely will be strawberries and cream at Wimbledon.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.