Looks Like Blue Clay is Here to Stay – Federer and Rafa Do Not Like It

Written by: Staff on 13th November 2011

Looks Like Blue Clay is Here to Stay - Federer and Rafa Do Not Like It

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns to Mardy Fish of the USA during the semi-finals of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on 08 October 2011. Top seed Rafael Nadal defeated number four Mardy Fish 7-5, 6-1 to reach the final of the Tokyo Open. EPA/EVERETT KENNEDY BROWN |

With the ATP giving tentative approval for innovative Ion Tiriac to trial an unprecedented blue clay court at the 2012 Madrid Masters, the radical change is not sitting well with tennis traditionalists Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Federer politely cut off talk of the subject, saying that the concept “is difficult to talk about right now.” That was code for a negative reaction from the 16-time major winner.

Clay-kind Nadal was even more expressive, telling his Twitter audience that blue clay goes against the “history and tradition of this area.” The Spaniard joked that he hoped he would never be asked to play on blue grass some day at Wimbledon, hardly a possibility at the most tradition-bound event on the calendar.

But Tiriac is always ready for a change. And the Romanian billionaire has a ready defense for his blue-clay plan: “It will improve visibility (of the ball).

“It looks better, I’m sure. The visibility improved by 25 or 30 per cent,” Tiriac told Spanish sports paper AS. “We want to give world-class athletes such as Mr. Djokovic, Nadal or Federer has the best visibility possible.

“In China, we will be seen by between 300 and 400 million viewers. In many countries, tennis is now the second national sport after football. We have a responsibility to all those viewers.”

Tiriac is counting on Madrid tournament director Manolo Santana to speak with Nadal over the player’s hesitation. “Nadal is a great champion who literally has his feet on the ground. In 50 years I’ve seen great champions who have had their feet on the ground and have adapted to all circumstances: Laver, Santana, Emerson, Connors, Vilas. And the same for Nadal.”

Topics: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer