The Baseline Top 5: Recent British feats on clay
Players have shown they're not only adept on the faster surfaces, but on slower ones, too.
Over the past several years, players from Great Britain have shown that they’re anything but stymied when the WTA and ATP tours turn to the clay-court stretch of the season. While they do generally post their best results on hard and grass courts, Grand Slam finals and team triumphs have been achieved on the slower stuff—just look at Johanna Konta's run to the Rome final last week.
Here’s are five of the most impressive feats by the Brits on dirt in recent years:
1 ****
Murray’s Elite Stretch
(Photos by Getty)
Perhaps surprisingly, it took Andy Murray 10 years to win his first clay-court title on the ATP Tour, finally accomplishing the feat in 2015 in Munich. He followed that up with his first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 title in Madrid, beating none other than Rafael Nadal in the final. The following year, Murray won in Rome, then advanced to his first career final at the French Open. He also had his share of team success on the clay over that time, too.
2
Great Britain’s Glory
In 2015, Great Britain reached the Davis Cup final against Belgium in a surprise championship tie. Belgium hosted the contest and chose an indoor clay court, but Murray proved more than up for the challenge. He won both of his singles rubbers and teamed up with his brother Jamie to take the doubles match, giving Great Britain its first title in the team event since 1936.
3 ****
Konta’s Climb
It was only two years ago that Johanna Konta was ranked No. 4 in the world, with prestigious titles and deep Grand Slam runs coming on hard and grass courts. However, a poor run of form last year knocked her out of the Top 40 for the first time in four years. She had a solid start to 2019, but in recent weeks, she’s taken off with a run on the clay—traditionally her worst surface. In Morocco, she reached her first semifinal and final on the dirt, and is coming off a final-round finish in Rome, where she beat Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams and Kiki Bertens along the way.
4
Edmund Makes Strides
With Murray sidelined by injury the past couple of seasons, young Englishman Kyle Edmund has spearheaded British hopes on the ATP Tour. Last year was his breakthrough campaign: After reaching the Australian Open semifinals and posting solid showings on hard courts, Edmund had a standout clay-court campaign. He reached his first career final in Morocco and also advanced to the quarterfinals at the Masters event in Madrid. Over the course of a couple of months, he defeated Richard Gasquet, Lucas Pouille, David Goffin and 2016 French Open champion Novak Djokovic.
5
Gentleman Tim’s Surprise Run
Serving and volleying on clay takes tons of mental fortitude as the likelihood of dealing with players passing you left, right, up or down can wear anyone down. In 2004, though, Tim Henman was undaunted: The Englishman reached his first Roland Garros semifinal, defeating clay-court standouts Galo Blanco and Juan Ignacio Chela to get there.
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