OFTEN players on the ATP Tour might pop up during a certain season and remind you of just what they are capable of. Then, just as they had appeared, they are gone in the blink of an eye, falling back into obscurity to hibernate until the next similar season. This is because some players are just suited to the surface and are yet to really take hold of other surfaces. On this list, we take a look at three clay court dominant players who are really one-surface dominant ATP players who range from inside the top 30 to outside the top 60.

The rankings are taken from the Elo ratings on Tennis Abstract, which is a great way of determining who has really been in form the last year. Those players are rated on their form against opponents rather than just tournaments, so beating top players count for more than winning lowly ranked tournaments against weaker opponents.

CLAY COURT:

The most notable singular-dominant players are on the clay court, with often Italians and South Americans among the list that always make it deep during the European spring season. The top three on this list could just about have been named blindfolded and most regular tennis watchers are aware of how good they could be on clay, but not so other surfaces.

Cristian Garin:

Overall: 24th
Clay: 7th

You are reading that right, Garin would be a Top 10 player if the ATP Tour was played purely on clay. He is a clay court specialist and his game lends itself to his style, with the Chilean considered a counter puncher with a consistent forehand. He is not overly a serve-dominant player, but his aggressive forehand and timing of the ball is good. He does not have a great deal of weapons outside his forehand and the slower clay surface helps him have time to utilise his forehand and retrieve balls across the court. He has won four titles in the past two years, all on clay.

Casper Ruud

Overall: 31st
Clay: 12th

Like Garin, Ruud is a younger version, ranked 12th overall on the clay court, though is situated 31st overall on form. Also like Garin, Ruud has a dominant forehand, which is more powerful than Garin’s, but he also has a much weaker backhand. In fact, his backhand slice is his more preferred choice of shot, slowing down the game enough to roll onto his forehand. Again, Ruud is more of a counter puncher or defensive player, retrieving balls and keeping a tiring tempo for his opposition more so than creating power. His weaker backhand is effectively what stops him really taking the next step as opponents take full advantage when the Norwegian is unable to get onto his forehand.

Laslo Djere

Overall: 65th
Clay: 14th

Djere is a little different to Garin and Ruud in his reasons why clay suits him better. The balls are slower once they hit the ground, but clay also takes away some of the advantage that big servers have, making it more about placement than speed. This is something that favours Djere because his serve is his major weakness. What makes Djere so good is his court coverage – think Lleyton Hewitt – with his doggedness to chase down every ball and make it count. His return points won are more than double the average of his opponents when playing well, whilst his backhand in particular is a joy to watch. Using both hands, he is one of the smoother backhand players on Tour, and while his forehand is okay but not great, his backhand is one that wins him a high portion of points. A real defensive counter puncher.