After the Monte Carlo Masters ended with the predictable Rafael Nadal triumph, the world's top tennis players are set to face something entirely different when they head to Madrid to play on blue clay for the first time.
Nadal, who ended a seven-match losing streak to Novak Djokovic to clinch a record eighth consecutive Monte Carlo crown on Sunday, was concerned about the change of surface colour midway through the six-week European clay-court season.
The May 6-13 Madrid Masters is followed by the Rome Masters the following week before the French Open starts on May 27. “You have back-to-back Madrid and Rome,” said Nadal, who lost both finals to Djokovic last year.
“Madrid is the only tournament you are playing with high altitude, and then now you are putting a different colour of clay. There can't be too much difference between Madrid and Rome.”
While the change to blue could make sense from a marketing perspective (blue is the colour of the Madrid event's main sponsor, Mutua) and organisers say it also makes the ball easier to see for spectators, Nadal said the tournament's history was what make it stand out.
Djokovic said changes were needed to improve the tour and to have more attractive venues but thought the players were not listened to when it came to major makeovers.
“As far as I know, most of the top players I talked to, nobody agreed. I never played on blue clay. Rafa didn't. Roger (Federer) didn't. If you don't have the top players agreeing on that, it doesn't make sense for me really,” Djokovic said.