Blue Clay- Here to stay or go away?

This weeks Mutua Madrilena open is special for a few reasons. Firstly, and somewhat contentiously the joint event for both men and women on the ATP and WTA tours will be offering more prize money for the ladies, secondly the Caja Magica (the venue for the event) is the only tournament in Europe in which the roofed stadium houses 3 courts, all which can offer play in a rain delay. However, these interesting but somewhat irrelevant stats pale into insignificance when you realise that this Madrid Open will be the first ever clay court event to be played on Blue Clay.

Tournament owner and former professional Ion Tiriac has always been known to shake things up, least we should forget his controversial introduction of model ballboys and girls that garnered so much attention back in 2008. This time, he says the move to a more 'viewer and player friendly" blue clay will enhance the experience for tv viewers who might have struggled to make out the ball before, and won't truly hinder the players. Indeed Tiriac had figures at the ready saying his expert team of court analysists believe that the visibilty will be over 20% better for those watching, and that it's just a happy coincidence that the blue matches that of Mutua Madrilena the premier sponsor of the event.
Naturally, with change comes a variety of different opinions. Clay stalwart and hardly an acrimonious figure, Rafael Nadal is one of a few players to already have spoken out against the move saying,   "The court is more slippery than usual, because I do not know if you have too little clay, it's hard underneath it, and [maybe] if you paint it blue its more slippery ... I am not a technician, but I've noticed it. There are times when the court is soft, but that’s a less worrisome problem." Nadal, born Majorcan also echoed a Federer like argument, pointing out that the clay season and Roland Garros has always been played on red/orange clay suggesting that the blue is somewhat unnatural.
Whilst a cynic might argue that Nadal's beef with the change is due to his previous clay success, and a dislike for a potentially faster and more slippery surface particularly when playing against monster hitters like Isner and Del Potro, he is not the only player to argue against the blue. Raonic, no pusher, and a player that would perhaps benefit from the new surface, tweeted about the slippery nature of what he and many others have now deemed "Smurf Clay".

However, what has to be remembered in the face of much criticism and skepticism, is that this is hardly the first big radical shake up in tennis in recent memory. Hawk eye received a lot of negative press about the potential for time wasting, slow down the game, usurping the umpire- i could go on- but has been an unanimous success. A short 7 years ago, and both the Australian and the US Opens were played on green surfaces, but now both use different shades of blue, and undoubtedly provide a clearer more vivid picture for both spectators and players. Despite the comfort and tradition the red clay provides, the manufacturing process that the courts undergo, involves applying a dye to the court whether it's blue or orange, so the difference between the actual playing surface of 2012 and 2011 is minimal at best.


Yesterdays start of play shed some interesting light on how the surface will play differently, and how this will affect the players. 3 of the marquee matches on the Manolo Santana centre court went 3 sets and over 2 and a half hours possibly indicating a variation in how the court plays as the match develops. Indeed Venus Williams after her marathon win told reporters that "she had to remember she was on a clay court (sic)", referring to the combination of the colour change, and the slightly faster surface. Another troubling development has been the ankle injury to Wozniacki today during her gutsy win over Pervak. The Dane is unsure of whether she'll be able to continue in the tournament, but will seek doctors advice before making a final decision tommorow. So far, one injury can be attributed to rotten bad luck, but by this time next week should there have been any more then we may just be celebrating the downfall of Tiriac's blue dream and assigning it to the history books. There's certainly a few players who hope so.

Claypova- Here to stay or just visiting?

Despite being a three time grand slam champion, a former world number one, the current world number two, and one of the most dominant women in tennis for the last decade, Maria Sharapova is not known as an all court player, much less a clay courter so to speak.
For the majority of her career, approximately at its half-way stage, Sharapova has slipped and slide, criticized and dreaded playing on the red stuff, famously dubbing herself a 'cow on ice' on the surface back at the 2008 French Open. Instead, the majority of her success has largely been built around a high risk, high pace game more suited to the fast courts of London and New York where her first two major victories were secured. What a shock it then is in 2012, to perhaps be calling the red clay Sharapova 2.0's best surface, but recent results and changes to her game since her shoulder surgery may mean what would once have been considered impossible is now true.


My analysis of Maria's clay game can be broken up into the parts where the slower surface helps her game, and how by aiding Maria's strengths the surface may also reduce her opponents ability to play successfully against her.
The Sharapova return of serve has and will always be one of the most devestating aspects of her game. Her natural timing and ability to connect well with the ball on the stretch means that this will always be a strength, but the slow pace and high bounce of a clay court is perfect for this shot to thrive. Last week in Stuttgart, and particularly against Stosur and Azarenka, serves that would rush through on grass and hard courts sat up that little bit more allowing her that extra time to set up her return. Indeed in the final, she hit over 5 clean return winners, and many more unretrieveable returns based on this advantage.


In terms of movement, this has always been a tough area for the 6 ft blonde on a slippery and foreign surface to her (and will continue to be so) but she seems to have found a way to hide it. Never a great mover on any surface, the slower conditions required for clay court tennis means better movers find it tougher to keep her on the run. Despite still being an unorthodox slider, the extra time clay provides allows her to sort her feet out better than on the quicker surfaces these days, giving her more time to bludgeon a groundstroke for a winner. In these cases where Maria is afforded time to set herself up to wallop a backhand, there aren't many women who can co-exist never mind beat her from the back of the court, Serena excused.


Another improvement i found in Maria's game this week was the serve, which post shoulder surgery has really been the key piece of the jigsaw missing for her. Her first serve percentage since the quarter against Stosur never strayed under 60% and hitting it as hard as she does, that's nothing to be scoffed at. For me, the clay attitude which downplays the need to get your first serve in has actually helped Maria to loosen up and just go for it, avoiding the doubles and tension which has so often infiltrated her serve in the past 2 or 3 years.


No doubt many fans and critics alike will be tempted to jump on the Maria train straight to the Roland Garros title, but i wager that there'll be a few tests yet before she can be considered the front runner for the French.


1. Stay injury free! Sharapova has played a heavy schedule so far this season and won a lot of matches, with both Madrid and Rome still to come before the French she needs to avoid burnout and or peaking to soon.
2. Beat the tricksters! Pova's biggest match-up struggle could come from the guile and crafty skills of a Schiavone, Medina, or definately Radwanska who she lost to in Miami. If she can beat the slice of Schiavone, and rally with Aga before she gets to Paris then she'll be looking good.
3. Finally beat or avoid Serena Williams! Maria's big bogey player who she hasn't beaten since 2004 and seems to have the Russian's number, and be in her head. The form Serena showed in Charleston, she very well may have to beat the American to win the tournament and that will be her biggest challenge.




To finish, the final with Vika to demonstrate the effect clay is having on Sharapova's game this season.

Check out the super returns at 5:20 and 6:50.



Come back tommorow for my thoughts on the transition to blue clay at the upcoming Madrid Masters :)





DJT