Madrid Open 2012: Roger Federer Will Conquer on Unorthodox Blue Courts

The blue clay at the Madrid Open doesn't scare Roger Federer as he preps for the second round of the tournament. If anything, it makes his challenge—becoming the world No. 1—all the more exciting.

He's already had some experience playing on the blue clay during practice sessions, but he's not naive enough to believe that experience will offer even a glimpse of what it will be like to play for real against the winner of David Nalbandian vs. Milos Roanic.

Fortunately, though, he doesn't need much adjustment. To him, it's just another court. He told the Agence France-Presse: 

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I've played on it for two days, but not on centre court. It feels a bit different than regular clay. Maybe it's the visual aspect. It's been cool and rainy so far here. It will be interesting to see who it is in hot and nice weather. … I have to wait for my match to come around to give a proper opinion. 

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Federer's is a drastically different attitude from the one Rafael Nadal is adopting. The courts—an experiment masterminded by tournament director Ion Tiriac—have left him fuming. He's railed against the change, which he alleges happened without the approval of the tournament board, according to the Agence France-Presse.

Perhaps the pressure of the tournament is finally getting to Nadal. Perhaps he's worried about his ability to sustain his stretch of dominance on the new blue courts. 

Federer seems to have a better grasp on the fact that tennis is a form of entertainment, and though gimmicky, the blue courts help draw attention. He said: 

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Does the younger generation need blue clay in order to get excited about tennis?. 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. 

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To make the leap to the world No. 1 spot, Federer will have to take down Nadal and Novak Djokovic—last year's Madrid Open champion. Beating Nadal will be especially difficult, given his history of success in the Open, which he won in 2005 and 2010. He finished second in 2009 and 2011.

There's no time to waste worrying about some new courts. There's nothing Federer can do except adjust because whining certainly won't increase his chances of winning.