One of the most surprising news of the last few days was certainly the decision of the Indian Wells organizers to change the surface.
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After 25 years, the first Masters 1000 of the season chose to move from 'Plexipave' to 'Laykold'. A revolution that should make the courts more similar to those of the Miami Open and the US Open. The Indian Wells surface has always been characterized by its extreme slowness and very high rebounds, while now it should be faster and favor a more offensive game.
However during the press conferences before the start of the tournament the opinions of the players on the new surface were very mixed.
Some tennis players said that the courts are faster and the bounces are lower, while others suggested that the surface is even slower than in the past.
Roddick on Indian Wells' newsurface
On the latest edition of his well-known podcast, former world No.1 Andy Roddick revealed which players could benefit from this major change: The ball is going to fly, because you cant retro-fit air.
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That skinny air where there is 0% humidity on any day, so if you hit a kick serve Indian Wells people go slow, that means Andy is not going to play well there because he plays better on fast surfaces.
The American also added: If it is going to a surface like a US Open or a Cincinnati, and you have that air where there is not an effective humidity to actually make the ball a bit heavier, you are going to see Reilly Opelka kicking serves over the third row.
Ben Sheltonshould be licking his chops. But then youre goingCasper Ruudwith his spin profile, that ball is just going to hit and explode off the court.
Without this revolution, Carlos Alcaraz would undoubtedly have been the top favorite to lift his third trophy in a row in California.
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The current world number 3 was really dominant on the previous surface, while he could be more in trouble in this new scenario.
