Clay courts give Aussie Tennis hope... Davis Cup winner Todd Woodbridge believes eight new Italian clay courts at Melbourne Park could help... Australia (find) its first French Open champion in more than 50 years.
THE AUSTRALIAN
Clay is the best training surface for up-and-coming stars.
ABC NEWS
What I like best about Rocavert's approach is that he is not just another ex-player taking pot shots from the couch. ...Rocavert is studying the feasibility of building a European-quality clay court.
RICHARD HINES
"When we talk about clay courts, it's not just a third of the world's tournaments that are played on clay, it is the best court surface to teach a young tennis player his craft," Fitzgerald
JOHN FITZGERALD
“For younger athletes clay is such a user-friendly surface. They get less injuries because it’s easier on body … and rallies last longer (because clay is a slower surface) which helps in their development of tactics and concentration. I guess the court does a lot of the coaching for you,” he said.
“Italian clay had the common characteristics we wanted – slow playing speed, high bounce and good traction – as well as manageable maintenance requirements,” he said.
CHRIS KACHEL, Tennis Australia’s clay court and development manager
Australian tennis players can look forward to more success at the French Open with a bold plan to bring European claycourts down under...
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Rocavert... who guided the likes of Jason Stoltenberg, Todd Woodbridge, Rachel McQuillan and Rennae Stubbs through their development, explains it as his quest to import an "Italian claycourt tennis culture".
"By importing this culture, my intention is for the court itself to become the teacher," Rocavert told The Sun-Herald. "Players will naturally evolve by playing on clay."
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
The 2014 European clay court season is soon to begin on 13th April, 2014 at Monte Carlo Country Club. The players will be playing on the TERRE DAVIS clay a this event. Matches can be watched on Fox Sports from approximately 7pm during the early stages of the tournament.
8 new TERRE DAVIS courts have been completed at Melbourne Park. These courts are part of the renovations of the complex commissioned by the Victorian Govt. These courts will enable player development in Australia.
Two new TERRE DAVIS clay courts were completed at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush on Christmas Eve. The courts are especially huge and are situated at the front end of the tennis complex and can be seen as you drive in on Rod laver Drive. They are fantastic!
For further information and photos please click on Locations – Homebush.
Check out our Queensland Tennis Centre page
For aspiring young Australian players to develop their skills and increase the possibility of future success on the world stage, Australian clay courts need to display similar playing characteristics to the European courts that host so many elite level events worldwide i.e. a higher bouncing ball; slower court that promotes better point construction; courts that instil confidence when sliding and the value of balance and setting correctly in behind the ball. These characteristics are essential for clay court development. From my experiences of playing on the TERRE DAVIS court, it certainly provides all the right characteristics.
More testimonials available on request.
Tennis Australia has backed the construction of two pilot Italian clay courts using the TERRE DAVIS product. The prestigious Macquarie University tennis facility was the chosen site for this long awaited initiative.