Madrid Open 2012 Scores: Blue Clay Proves Troublesome for Tennis Titans

What do Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have in common?

Aside from each constituting a leg of the tripod that's dominated men's tennis for nearly a decade, all three have found life on the "Smurf" clay at the Madrid Open decidedly less than pleasant.

As expected, the entirety of The Great Triumvirate is on to the third round in Spain. Djokovic needed three sets to dispatch Daniel Gimeno-Traver on Tuesday, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, while Wednesday saw Nadal dominate Nikolai Davydenko, 6-2, 6-2, and Federer struggle to dispatch Canadian up-and-comer Milos Raonic, 4-5, 7-5, 7-6.

Federer remained tight-lipped about the controversial colored courts, as he tends be whenever hot-button topics come to the fore. Djokovic and Nadal, though, haven't been so careful not to criticize the blue service, which tournament officials contend makes the ball easier to follow for television viewers. Said Nadal of the surface after his match, via Reuters:

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“The court is not one that makes you feel comfortable. You have to be realistic...The court is a difficult court, it’s very slippery and it makes supporting movements and getting back to defend very tough.

”But the only thing we can do now is turn the page and we are not going to get the red courts back tomorrow so we have to adapt to the blue courts and the conditions as well as possible and hope for a change next year.“

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Djokovic expressed similar concerns about the surface to the Associated Press earlier this week, though he framed it more as an issue of player input:

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"The only thing that is a little bit disappointing from a player's standpoint is that this is decided without players agreeing on it. If you don't have, especially, top players testing the court and agreeing for this change, that should mean something. They should have value in what they say.

"Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The ATP should have done a better job in representing the players' rights."

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Both stars make salient points. The ATP shouldn't potentially put the health of its players at risk with what some have described as a slippery surface, especially without first consulting with those who would eventually play on it.

For now, though, the most important point belongs to Nadal—that there's nothing anyone can do to change it now, and that there's no need to make a stink about it when everyone is subjected to the same conditions.

Perhaps that was Federer's point in remaining largely mum on the topic. Whether he'll keep quiet if he loses, or would've had he lost to Raonic on Wednesday, remains to be seen.

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