Since I don't know a ton about the sport I thought I would ask, what is the big difference in each type of surface? What makes the top player in the world more vunerable on one compared to another???

basically speed the ball travels off of basically the biggest is that clay is a lot slower - usually the same guy is favored in all three other majors and then some clay court specialist wins the french open

On Hard Court (Australian, US Open) the ball bounces fast and high. This favors players with big serves and deep groundstrokes.

On Clay Court (French Open) the ball bounces low and the clay basically kills the speed of the ball. It favors players who extend rallies and can get to a lot of balls like Nadal.

On Grass court, the ball kinda skids or skips, so it stays low but maintains its speed. The bounce is often unpredictable, so players come into the net a lot more, and tall players who can serve and volley well are rewarded, although the serve and volley game has gone away in recent years.

How much influence does the surface have on spin?

Depends on the grip of the surface.



Pretty much proven by Federer.