FAST TRACK

Not only are the new blue Australian Open courts faster than the contentious surface they replaced, they have been measured as even quicker than Wimbledon's grass.

That is the remarkable claim of the Australian Open's tournament director, Craig Tiley, who consulted widely with leading players - keeping Australian Lleyton Hewitt "in the loop" - before selecting the Plexicushion surface.

Tiley says it is quicker than Wimbledon grass and only slightly slower than the US Open's hardcourts, the slickest of the grand slam events. Tiley said the new Plexicushion had a speed rating of "34 to 38", which defined it as medium-fast on the International Tennis Federation's pace-rating scale. Surprisingly, this was quicker than Wimbledon - historically, the tournament that favoured serve-and-volley tennis, in which rallies were relatively short.

"Wimbledon is actually slower," said Tiley. "The French is obviously very slow. So we're faster than Wimbledon, faster than the French, and a little bit below the US Open."

While the notion that the Australian Open's courts - in the past much derided by the Hewitt camp for resembling "green clay" - might be quicker than the game's grass slam seems astounding, this does not necessarily make the tournament a serve-and-volleyer's nirvana. As Tiley acknowledged, on grass "the ball keeps low", which tended to give the impression of greater pace. A low bounce and skidding ball made it harder to retrieve volleys.

Tiley said Hewitt, the main critic of the Australian Open's previous surface, Rebound Ace, had indicated he liked Plexicushion.

Tiley said world No.1 Roger Federer also had been "kept in the loop" about the new surface. Federer would be another obvious beneficiary of a quicker surface.

Tiley and Tennis Australia are touting the new courts as quicker, more reliable and consistent than Rebound Ace, which was said to have variations in pace and bounce.