Garlic is spread over the surface at Manchester United to prevent parasites while Roland Garros' clay courts are lovingly built of crushed gravel, coal residue, white limestone and red brick dust. Surfaces in all sports are painstakingly prepared because athletes can be as fastidious about them as chefs are about presentation.

Athletes can be sulky about inconsistent speed, particular about bounce and occasionally lapse into obsessiveness. Ivan Lendl, a master of method, had the exact DecoTurf II surface used at the US Open laid in his backyard.