Madrid Open 2012: Why Struggling Stars Shouldn't Be Concerned

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer shockingly dropped sets in the second round and Rafael Nadal was ousted in the third round of the Madrid Open, but these stars shouldn't have cause for concern. 

With the risk of sounding "excuse-y," it's the fault of the blue clay, not the fault of the top three players in world. 

After Nadal dropped his match to Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, he had some very unkind words about Madrid's court (via thestar.com). 

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“Being able to move is very important for me and if I can’t move well, I can’t hit the ball well either,” said Nadal, a two-time Madrid champion. “If things don’t change, this will be one less tournament on the calendar for me.

“This surface destabilizes the game. It is a completely different game and I don’t want to take risks.”

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In case you weren't aware, the blue court is being used in the Madrid Open for the first time ever this year, and players are having all kinds of trouble finding their footing.

The way I think of it, it is like trying to play tennis in socks on a freshly-cleaned hardwood floor. Extremely fun for me? Absolutely. Fun for someone trying to win € 3,090,150? Not so much. 

If Nadal, who is a magician on clay and never loses this early at Madrid, was the only one to have trouble and was the only one to complain, then maybe I would just shake it off as him being a sore loser.

But with Federer and Djokovic both uncannily dropping sets to far-lesser opponents, it's clearly a problem. Djokovic (via ESPN) also had some not-so-nice things to say.

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"To me that's not tennis. Either I come out with football shoes or I invite Chuck Norris to advise me how to play on this court," said Djokovic. "Center court is impossible to move on. I hit five balls throughout the whole match. With everything else, I was just trying to keep the ball in the court."

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If Djokovic or Federer, who managed to advance to the quarters with a recent impressive win over Richard Gasquet, suffer an early exit just like Nadal, it won't change anything.

You have to simply look at this tournament in a whole different light. At this point you can't take it seriously with this ridiculous surface.

Good job and a pat on the back to whoever wins, but the 2012 Madrid Open deserves an asterisk next to its name.