Below is the list of tables from the database along with their columns and datatype. Need to generate an accurate SQL query for the question.
Only use the columns present in the respective table. Only use the columns which are required to generate the SQL query. Only use table joins if required and not otherwise.

### Tables ###
TABLE: CREATE TABLE table_204_553 ( id number, "outcome" text, "no." number, "date" text, "tournament" text, "surface" text, "partner" text, "opponents in the final" text, "score in the final" text )

### Question ###
the match on november 12 , 1978 was on a hard surface . what was the surface of the previous match ?

### Accurate SQL ###

SELECT "surface" FROM table_204_553 WHERE "date" < (SELECT "date" FROM table_204_553 WHERE "date" = '12 november 1978') ORDER BY "date" DESC LIMIT 1