Roger Federer remains curious but calm before his first experience on the blue clay courts of the Madrid Masters, with the third seed reserving judgement on controversial surface which has tennis in temporary turmoil.
“It’s been cool and rainy so far here; it will be interesting to see how it plays in hot and nice weather. There is still some waiting to do and matches are quite a bit it different that practises,” the 2009 Madrid champion said on Sunday.
“I’ve played on it for two days, but not on centre court.”
Federer is competing for the first time since a Miami third-round loss in late March which was followed by a pre-programmed pause for holidays and rest.
“It feels a bit different than regular clay, maybe it’s the visual aspect,” he said of the surface introduced by Madrid event boss Ion Tiriac over the strident vocal opposition of Rafael Nadal.
“I have to wait for my match to come around to give a proper opinion,”
Nadal has had his public problems with the colour change, blasting the ATP for allowing the modification to take place without consultation with the board.
Tiriac has been a tennis rebel for four decades, as a player, manager and now tournament chief.
Several seasons ago, he introduced runway models as Madrid ball girls with spectacular public relation results.
Federer will start in the second round after a bye against either Argentine David Nalbandian or Canadian Milos Raonic, who beat Andy Murray on clay last month in a Barcelona quarter-final.
While he remains unsure of how the blue week will go, Federer knows there will certainly be a judgement soon enough.
“Does the younger generation need blue clay in order to get excited about tennis?” asked the 30-year-old. “I don’t know as I’ve not spoken to thousands and thousands of kids about it.
“We’ll soon hear the echoes from this week from players, fans and media. A close look will be taken once this is done so that a decision can be made for the next years after this test of the blue clay.”
Federer said he’s feeling well after his break and hopes to resume the torrid winning pace he set from late 2011 until his Miami loss, a period in which he won six of eight events played, including the last Masters 1000 of the season in Paris and the first of 2012 at Indian Wells.
“I feel good about my chances of playing well over the next few months,” he said, “But I’m coming back onto clay in the home of Rafa, who has been so dominant in this surface for so many years.
“I have a big task ahead of me, but my focus is to get through my tough draw and get on a roll again. I’m happy and excited to be playing again.”
