The 2012 Madrid Masters tournament was held on blue clay, the first and only time the surface was used in the history of the ATP Tour.
The clay court season is for many tennis fans, the greatest stretch of the ATP Tour, as they watch players battle it out on the red stuff.
Rafael Nadal, known as the ‘King of Clay’, won 63 titles on the surface, including 14 at the French Open, a record which many believe will never be beaten.
It’s not just the French Open that has fans glued to their seats, however, as the Monte-Carlo Masters, Italian Open, and Madrid Masters are all massive clay tournaments that attract big numbers.
However, whilst fans are used to seeing the red clay, there was one occasion where tournament organisers though it would be a good idea to mix things up.
2012 Madrid Open: The first and only blue clay tournament
The 2012 Madrid Open might well be the most memorable edition of the tournament, for one key reason, the colour of the courts.
Ion Tiriac, owner of the Madrid tournament, wanted to change things up in 2012, so he ordered the courts to be blue, rather than the traditional red.
The idea behind the move was that the blue courts would contrast better with tennis balls, which would make for an easier viewing experience.
It was a bold idea, and one that had potential, before things quickly unraveled, as a number of players were injured on the new courts.
Players complained that dying the surface had made the courts too slippery and difficult to manoeuvre, putting defensive players at a distinct disadvantage.
A number of shock results soon followed, as the blue clay took a number of unsuspecting victims.
3R: Rafael Nadal loses to Fernando Verdasco
The most successful clay court player of all time had a torrid time on the blue clay, as Nadal was dumped out by fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the third round.
Nadal dropped the first set to Verdasco, before firing back to win 6-3 in the second.
Verdasco closed out the match with a late break in the third set as he won his first-ever match against Nadal.
Nadal’s loss in Madrid was one to forget, and forget he did, as perhaps on a technicality, he went unbeaten on ‘red’ clay, throughout 2012.
Nadal picked up the Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open, Italian Open, and French Open in 2012, as he enjoyed a stellar clay season, barring a minor blip on the blue stuff.
QF: Novak Djokovic loses to Janko Tipsarevic
It was an all Serbian affair in the first quarter-final on blue clay, as top seed Novak Djokovic suffered a surprising defeat to Janko Tipsarevic.
Similarly to Nadal, Djokovic had a strong clay season, barring his week in Madrid, reaching the final in Monte-Carlo, Rome, and Roland Garros, coming up short to the Spaniard on all three occasions.
Djokovic just couldn’t get to grips with the surface, as he fell in straight sets to his fellow Serb, and became another victim of the controversial surface.
F: Roger Federer beats Tomas Berdych
Roger Federer winning the 2012 Madrid Open may not look like the biggest of surprises, but behind the curtain, it may well have been a bit of a shock.
His win in Madrid saw him lift a title on clay for the first time since June 2009, ending a near three-year drought for the Swiss.
After Tomas Berdych took the first set, the 41-year-old powered back to take home the title 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, and become the first and only ATP player to win a tournament on blue clay.
One of many records that Federer retired with, that looks safe for many years to come.
What happened after the 2012 Madrid Open blue clay ‘experiment’?
Players weren’t happy with the tournament and demanded that the 2013 edition of the event be played on red clay.
Nadal and Djokovic both threatened to skip the tournament, should it be played on blue clay after the struggles they faced during 2012.
With things bubbling over, acting ATP president Brad Dewett put out a statement, ending the ‘blue clay experiment’.
“There were clearly issues with the quality of the courts in Madrid this year, which were not acceptable,” he said.
It was the end of blue clay, but information came out in the months following the tournament that suggested that the color of the courts may not have been the only reason for the problems in Madrid.
Whilst the blue dye may have contributed to the issues, faulty drainage systems were found which struggled to hold the heavy rains that Madrid was subject to in the days prior to the tournament beginning.
We will likely never know the full story about what happened at the 2012 Madrid tournament, but for now it seems unlikely that the ATP stars of today, will ever step foot on a blue clay court.
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