h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A topical subject that makes fine reading on these lazy, hazy days of summer.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A583157

Pass the please

*Much* better now that it's properly formatted!

I found this rather interesting only having experience on the hard courts myself. The only time I ever played on grass/clay was at my uncle's farm where he created his own tennis court behind the barn.

In the spring it was grass but by July it was clay(dirt).

Another fine effort!

- X

Awesome

Nice, not much else to add really. I must say that I would prefer a slightly more detailed explanation of the differences between clay and grass courts - ie the speed and low bounce off grass, the slowness of the clay surface and higher bounce etc.
But that's just me - tis an excellent piece of work

Orcus

Agree with Orcus (perhaps the Clay/Grass-difference bit could be added).

Minor thingey that came to my mind:

The following excerpt: "The same praise cannot be extended to Kuerten, who is only too happy to miss Wimbledon. Guga, as the popular Brazilian is known, is a wonderful asset to the men's tour, but apparently hasn't yet grasped why he should be at Wimbledon."

It is not really timeless, reading this in 5 years will probably feel strange. Who knows whatever is going to happen to Kuerten? He may be famous now, but will it last? (I don't think he has already the same legendary status as Sampras, Lendl, McEnroe and other people mentioned in the entry... He won Roland Garros twice... OK... but his career in these ranks has just started. Will he remain there?)

Great entry otherwise. I am not a tennis player myself, but all the rest of my family is, and they sometimes discuss that ol' Clay/Grass thing, and why some players prefer clay to grass. I always wondered what their problem was.

Thanks,

HELL

Hi Loony. Nice article with some good facts.

One tiny correction: Vilas' first name was Guillermo.

It might be worth adding a footnote to explain how Borg only lost once in eight years of the French if he only won it six times (just to avoid confusion). His successes also make you wonder how he never won the US crown - obviously he didn't travel well outside Europe. Is my memory playing tricks, or did he used to duck out of the Aussie because it was too far/the wrong time of year? Not relevant, just wondering.

Is it worth mentioning that the US Open was played on grass until 1974, and the Australian until 1988? The game is, after all, LAWN tennis - so it's the French who have it wrong!

Like the others, I'd like to see a brief explanation of the key differences between the two surfaces at the beginning, and maybe a more 'timeless' approach. But it's a great read and brings back some wonderful memories. Thanks.

GVI

OK I know this article is about grass versus clay courts but is it worth at least mentioning hard courts, cement etc? Just to highlight that these are not the only two surfaces competition tennis is played on

Thanks for the comments people. Changes have been made.

I've retained the stuff that will probably date because, being an eternal optimist, I believe that by the time it does actually become dated, h2g2 will have an updating procedure in place

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'Tennis - Grass v Clay'.

This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review Forum because your entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

You can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.h2g2.com/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!

Hey Looney!

As you can see, this one is finally on the road to the Edited Guide. Pity it had to languish so long here in PR with virtually no comment, but you know the routine.

Anyway, keep up the good work and congratulations!

- X

Congratulations!
I was rather surprised that this entry hadn't already got the nod.
Anyway, have some
Azara

Thanks folks. anyone?