The ball doesn't bounce at all! It's completely absorbed by the court. There's no upward movement at all. I just tried dropping a tennis ball on a soft pillow and there was at least a little. That one simply died, like it was caught by one of those velcro paddles you see people playing with on the beach.
What happened is that the stifling temperatures in Melbourne caused a heat bubble filled with air to form under the surface of the court. It's the same concept that causes crust bubbles to develop on edges of pizza slices. As the Mirror reported, workers came out and drilled two small holes in the court, which let out the air. Order, and gravity, was restored.
Complete stories here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/blog/busted_racquet/post/Video-Maria-Sharapova-finds-dead-spot-on-Austra?urn=ten-310644
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/580104-video-australian-open-official-drills-holes-in-court-when-ball-doesnt-bounce
3/1/11 Update - The bubble effect was the cause of a thinner asphalt overlay bubbling up off the concrete surface below, not the color coating bubbling up off the asphalt.
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