During the Madrid Open 2012, organizers implemented the controversial decision to switch things up and entertain fans by changing the clay court surface from the traditional red color to blue. However, following threats from Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to boycott the tournament, Ion Tiriac made the smart decision to comply with the superstars’ demands, keeping the ATP Masters 1000 tournament relevant.
As compared to the conventional red clay court surface, the blue clay court was much more slippery. Additionally, players kept complaining about the ball’s bounce as well. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were two of the biggest superstars who expressed their dissatisfaction with the same.
After shockingly losing his 3rd round clash to Fernando Verdasco, 3-6, 6-3, 5-7, Nadal complained about the fact that he was unable to move on the court as he did normally. After admitting that he did try his best to adjust to the blue clay court, the King of Clay was stern when claiming that he would gladly skip the tournament if the court wasn’t back to red clay.
“The movements are very important for me and here I cannot move so I cannot hit the ball the way that I want. The ATP and the tournament can do what they want. I tried my best to prepare but I wasn’t good enough to adapt my game to this court. The only thing that I know is that if things continue like this I am very sad but next year will be one less tournament in my calendar,” Nadal said, reported by Al Jazeera.
Novak Djokovic suffered a shocking loss in the quarterfinals Janko Tipsarevic. Failing to defend his title, the Serb bluntly stated that the blue clay court experiment had “failed”. Similar to his rival Rafa, Djoko also threatened to skip the tournament the following year if the necessary changes weren’t made.
Djokovic said, as per BBC Sport, “In 2013, if they play on blue [clay], they can have their own tournament but I am not coming for sure.”
“It is simple – no blue clay for me. The test has failed.”
“I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real clay courts. Here you can’t predict the ball bounce or movement.
“I want to perform my best but, if I cannot move and am putting pressure all the time on muscles and my body, and I am worried about not getting injured because the court is unpredictable, then what is the sense in playing here?”, Djokovic added.
Ion Tiriac is considered as the richest tennis player till date and is believed to have crossed the $1 billion net worth mark in the early 2010s. With the virtue of being the Madrid Open’s owner back then, a considerable amount of his wealth was generated by the tournament.
If Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who were two of the most popular players on tour, didn’t partake in the tournament, goes without saying that there would be a massive dip in viewership. Deciding to comply with the demands made by the players, Tiriac switched back to the red clay court. By fulfilling his promise, both superstars participated in the Madrid Open 2013, and the Romanian businessman and ATP professional saved his net worth from taking a hit.
Currently, the Madrid Open is owned by IMG as Ion Tiriac sold the rights to the iconic American sports management company for a whopping 360 million euros in April 2022 (currently the value would be $384 million). And interestingly, Djokovic has decided to skip the Madrid Open 2024, making him the first big name to withdraw as Carlos Alcaraz is set to officially declare his unavailability too.
Monte Carlo Masters 2024 disaster made fans recall Roger Federer in Madrid Open
The Monte Carlo Masters 2024 was an exciting tournament. However, fans seemed to have a problem with the viewing experience. Taking to social media, tennis enthusiasts complained that the color of the court had a camouflaging effect, making it extremely difficult to keep track of the ball.
Surprisingly, fans even suggested that clay court tournament organizers should think of bringing back the blue clay courts. And that is where Roger Federer’s 2012 Madrid Open win was also brought out, which was the Swiss star’s third and last title win in the city.
However, while Roger Federer was gracious enough in victory, it was reported back then that he too was not in favor of blue clay being the surface at the Madrid Open. So he had no qualms on playing on the red dirt in 2013, despite that surface not being his biggest strength.
