Ball-maker hoping Nadal proves him wrong

PARIS >> Less than half a gram, or half the weight of a dollar bill.

That, according to their manufacturer, is the almost infinitesimal weight difference between the old French Open ball that Rafael Nadal happily bashed in winning his 12th title last year and the new one riling him in his chase for No. 13 at Roland Garros.

In cool, damp autumnal Paris, weather alien to the native of a sun-kissed Mediterranean isle, the balls play “like a stone,” Nadal grumbled even before he had hit his first one in anger on the clay courts, aiming to tie Roger Federer’s record for men of 20 Grand Slam titles overall.

But the ball manufacturer who oversaw their development and testing is so convinced that Nadal is wrong that he’s quietly crossing fingers that Spain’s “King of Clay” triumphs again, despite the fact that he is sponsored by a rival equipment maker, simply to prove that the balls are just fine.

“Part of me is like, ‘Gosh, I hope Nadal wins, just so it makes this a really moot point,’” Jason Collins, the global product director for racket sports at Wilson Sporting Goods Co., said in an interview.

“I’m very confident that when the dust settles on this event, the ball is not going to be what Roland Garros 2020 is going to be remembered for.”

American player Jack Sock is among those who haven’t noticed.

“In general, if you gave me two different balls, I couldn’t tell you which was lighter, heavier. I just go out and play,” he said.