CAMELOT FANTASIES

Though clay is a 'natural surface', it's really not ideal for tennis. Only certain people who grow up playing on this surface tend to do well. Similarly people who grow up on clay can't consistently do well on grass - another natural surface. In the 90s and before, clay courters would barely make the 3rd round of Wimbledon. Hard surface seems to be more neutral and particularly designed for tennis. And it's ideal for tennis as well. Who's to say tennis should be played on 'natural surface'? Just because it's been that way? It's been that way only because hard surface hadn't existed back then and we weren't so advanced unlike today. If things were to evolve and they are evolving, then one day we'll probably only see hard courts and neutral surfaces will cease to exist. We can make an exception here and there but in reality, most of them are more comfortable on a neutral surface such as hard and it's doesn't have to be 'natural'. The idea of playing tennis on a natural surface is in fact primitive. Sure you can play basketball on clay and grass too but they are not ideal for the game. You play in your backyard only because you don't have a surface made out for you and that's the only option you are left with. Clay and grass were there mostly for those reasons 100+ years ago since we hadn't advanced then.

As good as they make Federer out on clay, his records say something otherwise. Sure Rafa was there but he wasn't there until 2005 and Federer didn't have to face him until then and yet, he couldn't win the FO while he won all the other Slams and some of them twice. Got beaten by all sorts of people at the FO until then. And he had turned pro in 1998 so if he was that good, there were plenty chances for him to win the FO as he did with all the others and yet, he didn't. Just goes to show he too wasn't all that good on clay. And even 2009, he really didn't win it beating Nadal - his only FO to date.

Still, there are some exceptions like Borg but you can't take those as a general rule of thumb. Those are merely exceptions.

Like Sampras, Andy doesn't even want to play on clay and there were instances in the 90s when clay-courters would avoid playing on grass but it was rare for players to skip any of Slams on hard courts. And it is the same way today.