question about blue and red clay

adil1972

Hall of Fame
i dont understand from where madrid organizers found blue clay,

did they paint it blue or what

and how this year they change the color of clay back to red
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
they added a dye

they changed it back because last year they laid the clay too soon before the tournament and it was too unstable/slippery. So drama queens Novak and Nadal threatened to boycott it if they didn't change it back to red.
 

Tenez101

Banned
Blue clay is 70% water (hence its blue color) and is mined from the bottom of the ocean. Material from the layer of decaying organic matter found on the seafloor is often mixed in, contributing to the surface's slippery consistency.
 

adil1972

Hall of Fame
they added a dye

they changed it back because last year they laid the clay too soon before the tournament and it was too unstable/slippery. So drama queens Novak and Nadal threatened to boycott it if they didn't change it back to red.

drama queens or drama kings

LOL

what is meant by unstable here
 
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Slippery.

It was supposed to play the same as red clay, and apparently they even had Carlos Moya test it out and it played fine, but they got something wrong and when the tournament happened it played very slippery.

It's the sort of thing you get one shot at. They tried something new, it didn't work and nobody liked playing on it, so that's done now.
 

Lukhas

Legend
Basically, blue clay is red clay, but in blue. You add blue pigments to the mix. It's supposed to play the same. It was made to add better visibility on the court, and reflect the colours of the sponsor. However, the organizer failed to properly apply it onto the court: it was lacking the base layer that allow clay to grip onto the court. As a result, it was very, very slippery. Moreover, a part of the players was against it since they suspected it wouldn't play the same as red clay, like Har-Tru does for example. Which, they think, would compromise their preparation for Roland-Garros. They were partly right: it didn't played like red European clay, but not because it was blue, just because it was poorly applied.

Personally, I liked it since I could see the ball much more clearly on streams. Little to no advantages on a Full HD, 16/9 display with proper size: if the match is displayed in Full HD, you already can clearly see the ball. But for bad quality or old displays, it was pretty useful IMO.
 

Vish13

Semi-Pro
Blue clay is 70% water (hence its blue color) and is mined from the bottom of the ocean. Material from the layer of decaying organic matter found on the seafloor is often mixed in, contributing to the surface's slippery consistency.

:lol: :lol: :lol:
 

mmk

Hall of Fame
i dont understand from where madrid organizers found blue clay,

did they paint it blue or what

and how this year they change the color of clay back to red

You do understand that most clay courts aren't made of actual dug up clay, right? The majority of red clay courts, including those that the pros play on, are made of crushed brick (although there are a very small number of natural clay courts). For last year's Mutua Madrid, after crushing the brick, blue dye was added. As noted above, the real problem with the court was reportedly inadequate preparation, although there were those who believed that the dye altered the slipperiness of the clay.
 

cknobman

Legend
Here is a little fact:

There more more injuries this year at Madrid on red clay than last year on the blue clay that was supposedly "dangerous".
 

TennisCJC

Legend
Nadal's and Djoko's complaining is a case of the tail wagging the dog.

Blue clay was great for TV viewing as the ball visibility is much improved. I am sure the organizers could work out any issues with slipperyness but they were too scared after Nadal and Djoko whined and threatened a boycott.

BLUE CLAY IS GREAT FOR TENNIS!
 

PaulFCB

Semi-Pro
Nadal didn't start complaining about the playing conditions, he was totally against since 2011 when it was just an idea cause "it's not traditional to play on blue clay, it should be red".
He took it like it was his own tournament and he's comments were beyond a players tasks, players should play, not decide stuff like this.
Of course, the surface proved a bit difficult, and players started crying around like it wasn't the same for all of them, why didn't Federer cry about it all week?
Second of all, it was the first time in history this thing was used, you can expect it's not going to be perfect from the beginning, I know they tried to change things for 2013 but they were asked to use red clay again. I think the surface was too slippery because they didn't use enough clay to cover the surface, not because of the color itself, the idea is that it was more slippery for clay courts, but wasn't any more dangerous than standard hard courts and grass ones.
Simply, cry babies nah nah nah, the color was superb, I loved it, not to mention it was still unique, but I'm sure they will try to find a way to bring it back.
 

spinovic

Hall of Fame
I liked the blue clay. I wish they'd have brought it back. Hopefully they'll try it again in a few years when Rafa and Novak aren't as essential to the tournament's success financially.
 

mike danny

Bionic Poster
i do not get all the fuss about the blue clay. once again 3 top players were eliminated despite being red clay again. so much for the it is all about the blue clay. heck last year djoko lost in quarters this year on RED clay he lost in his very first match
 

PaulFCB

Semi-Pro
But Nadal didn't.

After all, the people are interested in seeing Nadal more than the other in the top 3, I'm sure that if Fed+Djok+Marray and even Ferrer, Delpo and the other Top 10 would've cried, but not Nadal, things would've been different this year with the clay.
As I said, Nadal had a problem with the color from the start, before having any idea of the playing conditions, he acted like a cry baby that wants his wishes to be respected knowing that those tickets are sold mainly because of him.
 

mike danny

Bionic Poster
But Nadal didn't.

After all, the people are interested in seeing Nadal more than the other in the top 3, I'm sure that if Fed+Djok+Marray and even Ferrer, Delpo and the other Top 10 would've cried, but not Nadal, things would've been different this year with the clay.
As I said, Nadal had a problem with the color from the start, before having any idea of the playing conditions, he acted like a cry baby that wants his wishes to be respected knowing that those tickets are sold mainly because of him.
well i am.sure if something like this happened at basel and federer complained they would fix it immediatly. it is understandable after all nadal is their man because he is spanish
 

DNShade

Hall of Fame
The bottom line is the blue color had nothing to do with the way the courts played - it's exactly the same make up as the red clay.

The problem last year (and pretty much every year) is that Madrid is a temporary court that is laid down every year for the event. A good clay court needs to settle and be played on etc.

And last year they made the mistake of rolling the lower layer extra hard because of the injuries at MC due to the sublayer having some issues and getting dug up during play etc. But this ended up having the the opposite effect where the lower layer was rock hard and the upper layer of loose material never settled and just stayed very loose and slippery.

When Moya played on it a few weeks before the event he said it played great. Then they hard rolled it right before the event due to MC problems and that was the mistake.

So it would've happened exactly the same way with red clay last year too.

At the end of the day it was the ground crew and the court construction and maintenance -- and had nothing to due with the color of the court at all.
 

Backbored

Hall of Fame
From what I remember (so take this with a grain of salt) it had to do with the amount of salt they had to use to make the color match when they filled in the holes. This caused a film of salt crystals to form on the upper surface of the court making it very slippery.
 

SLD76

G.O.A.T.
Blue clay is 70% water (hence its blue color) and is mined from the bottom of the ocean. Material from the layer of decaying organic matter found on the seafloor is often mixed in, contributing to the surface's slippery consistency.

Poast of the day.

..iRofl'd
 

SLD76

G.O.A.T.
Nadal didn't start complaining about the playing conditions, he was totally against since 2011 when it was just an idea cause "it's not traditional to play on blue clay, it should be red".
He took it like it was his own tournament and he's comments were beyond a players tasks, players should play, not decide stuff like this.
Of course, the surface proved a bit difficult, and players started crying around like it wasn't the same for all of them, why didn't Federer cry about it all week?
Second of all, it was the first time in history this thing was used, you can expect it's not going to be perfect from the beginning, I know they tried to change things for 2013 but they were asked to use red clay again. I think the surface was too slippery because they didn't use enough clay to cover the surface, not because of the color itself, the idea is that it was more slippery for clay courts, but wasn't any more dangerous than standard hard courts and grass ones.
Simply, cry babies nah nah nah, the color was superb, I loved it, not to mention it was still unique, but I'm sure they will try to find a way to bring it back.



Hmmmm I call bs.

when he destroyed davydenko last year in madrid he says conditiond were fine and if he lost it wont be cuz of conditions, his tune found a different key after verdasco beat him like a drum
 

Clarky21

Banned
Nadal didn't start complaining about the playing conditions, he was totally against since 2011 when it was just an idea cause "it's not traditional to play on blue clay, it should be red".
He took it like it was his own tournament and he's comments were beyond a players tasks, players should play, not decide stuff like this.
Of course, the surface proved a bit difficult, and players started crying around like it wasn't the same for all of them, why didn't Federer cry about it all week?
Second of all, it was the first time in history this thing was used, you can expect it's not going to be perfect from the beginning, I know they tried to change things for 2013 but they were asked to use red clay again. I think the surface was too slippery because they didn't use enough clay to cover the surface, not because of the color itself, the idea is that it was more slippery for clay courts, but wasn't any more dangerous than standard hard courts and grass ones.
Simply, cry babies nah nah nah, the color was superb, I loved it, not to mention it was still unique, but I'm sure they will try to find a way to bring it back.

There is so much bs in this one post it's nearly overflowing. Nadal was against the blue clay nonsense since it was first brought up by that clown Tiriac, all the way back in 2009. So was Fed for that matter, and neither one of them wanted it. They somehow got the blue mess approved anyway, and it was a disaster from the very start. It was slippery, dangerous, and many players complained about it, not just Nadal. It was a mistake and they knew it, hence the blue mess is no more, and has been banned.

Looking back at highlights from last year's tournament, the blue clay actually makes me feel queasy when I look at it. It looks very artificial and like a future health hazard waiting to happen from exposure to it. I'm glad it's gone and will never be back.
 

cknobman

Legend
It was slippery, dangerous, and many players complained about it, not just Nadal.

Really do you have any facts about how dangerous it was?

I have a fact for you: More injuries occurred in Madrid this year on red clay than last year on blue clay.
 

SLD76

G.O.A.T.
Really do you have any facts about how dangerous it was?

I have a fact for you: More injuries occurred in Madrid this year on red clay than last year on blue clay.

I dont recall anyone and breaking an ankle or wrist like they did in monte carlo last year

but something tells me a certain spaniard had noooo problems with the conditions in MC last year, no?
 
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