Andy Murray says that while he’s not necessarily in favor of speeding up courts on tour, he would like to know which tournaments will be slower and which ones will be faster on an annual basis. The courts at the 2013 Australian Open are said to be playing faster than usual.
“I think from most of the people I speak to, they enjoy watching the game the way it is now,” Murray said. “Maybe there’s not much variety in the styles of play, but there’s a lot of reasons for that. I don’t think it’s just the court surface. I think the strings, the balls have definitely slowed down. I think rather than necessarily changing the court speed, speeding the balls up can make a big difference as well.
"Sometimes variety in the courts is good. I just think it’s important for the players in advance to know what the speed of the court is going to be. Sometimes, at some events, one year it’s lightning quick, and then the next year it’s been one of the slowest courts on the tour. It’s impossible to prepare for that.
“Provided everyone knows what the speed of the courts are likely to be, then I think it’s fine to make some adjustments to that.”