Novak Djokovic on Monday joined Rafael Nadal in blasting ATP executive suite for allowing a change to blue clay for the Madrid Masters without any consultation with players.

The one-year deal with tournament boss Ion Tiriac, a wise old fox for four decades in the tennis wars, was quietly pushed through under the table by ex-ATP CEO Adam Helfant last year without consultation.

The American left the job at the end of the year.

“The only disappointing thing from a player standpoint is that it was decided without players agreeing to it,” said holder Djokovic.

“I’m not blaming the tournament, it is fighting for its own interests. But the ATP should have done a better job on player rights in protecting what the players want.”

Djokovic also threw down a veiled warning for the week: “The hope of all players is that we won’t have injuries and have a decent week of tennis.”

While world number three and ATP Player Council president Roger Federer is willing to give the situation a look after play is complete, Djokovic and especially home hero Nadal have come out firing, with the Spaniard doing most of the verbal heavy lifting on the issue.

“This is about history, the earth is red, not blue. tennis is not only about show-business, there are more things to appreciate, history and tradition.

“Some symbolic things in the world should be preserved,” he said before his second-round start.

Djokovic said that skipping his family’s ATP event in Belgrade last week was the only way he could recover stability after the death of his grandfather a fortnight ago during the Monte Carlo Masters week.

“I skipped Serbia because of the circumstances, it wasn’t the right time for me to perform.” said Djokovic. “I was not emotionally ready

“I had an extra week to rest, prepare and train. Whatever happened is behind me now. I feel good, I’ve trained for the last 10 days and I’m prepared for this week.”

Madrid 2011 marked the first of two Masters 1000 clay titles for Djokovic, both coming at the expense of Nadal.