World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, whose opinions might count a little more than some, won his first match Tuesday at the Mutua Madrid Open and then blasted the tournament’s decision to switch to blue clay.
There had been few complaints about the strangely colored surface from early winners, including very tall players such as Juan Martin del Potro and Milos Raonic, though Rafael Nadal said Friday that the ATP made a mistake by allowing a surface change at a Masters Series event. But Djokovic, who looked as if he was playing on ice throughout, was seething after his match.
“It’s impossible to move on the central court,” Djokovic, a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 winner, said after admitting that his opponent, Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver, played well. “I only really hit five balls throughout the whole match. The rest of the time I was just trying to put the ball in the court, so I relied on my serve and getting some free points from his unforced errors.
“For me, that’s not tennis. Next time, I either come with football shoes or I invite Chuck Norris to advise me on how to play on this court because, with all due respect to the people and to the tournament, I just cannot find the words to describe . . . you know . . . for me it’s really tough.”
All the players have acknowledged the court is more slippery than the traditional red clay (or American Har-Tru), but Djokovic obviously found it more difficult than most.
“When you slide on red clay, you have the feeling you can stop and recover,” he said, “but here, whatever you do — split step for the return, going to the net, defending, being offensive — you are always slipping.”
Djokovic joined Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in discussions with Grand Slam leaders at Indian Wells and greatly influenced the increase in prize money for first- and second-round losers at the French Open and Wimbledon. So he is very conscious of the need to speak for the game as a whole — a point he made again here.
“I take things very seriously regarding surfaces on our circuit and I think our opinions, not just mine but of all the players, have to be heard and considered and we have to understand what is going on in our tennis world. Players have to be protected. This tournament’s decision to change the color of the clay is an example of the players not being considered and listened to. Their opinions are being ignored. So I really hope this is going to change in the future.”
Former Wimbledon champion Manolo Santana, the tournament director here, is acutely aware of some players’ resistance to change. And Ion Tiriac, the chairman and entrepreneur who masterminded this innovation, already has been in heated discussions with both the ATP and WTA tours. Stand by. There will more to come after this barrage from Djokovic.
