Roger Federer: Whiny Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic Should Take Notes from Fed

Instead of allowing the blue clay at the Madrid Open to psyche him out, Roger Federer has made all the right adjustments, and now he is primed to capture the title in Madrid, which would be the 74th of his illustrious career.

His rivals, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, were ousted before matching up with Federer, and they blamed the blue clay for their failures.

Here is a quote from Rafa after he lost his third round match to Fernando Verdasco, per Yahoo Sports:

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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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Djokovic had similar complaints after he was ousted by Janko Tipsarevic. He is quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as follows:

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"I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real clay courts," Djokovic said. "Here you can't predict the ball bounce or movement. They can do whatever they want, but I won't be here next year if this clay stays."

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Really guys?

Are all the players playing on the same surface or what? Do the other players have special tennis shoes that give them an advantage on the blue clay?

Of course not. 

These are just tantrums thrown by privileged stars that are used to getting their way. Nadal is perhaps the game's best clay court player, and Djokovic is the No. 1 player in the world. Their expectations were high, and they did not deliver.

Did the blue clay play a factor in their less than stellar performances?

That is very possible, but they weren't playing on a different surface than their opponents. The game is about adjustments and rising to the challenges the surface and your opponent present. At Madrid, neither Djokovic or Nadal were able to do that, and they used the blue clay as an excuse.

This was a pitiful display and both of them are too good to resort to such puny excuses.

With the surface excuse on the tips of their tongues, I suspect they allowed the surface to throw them mentally off their games.

Meanwhile, the old pro Federer, carried on, making the adjustments he needed to make, and now I believe he will defeat Tomas Berdych in the final.

This should give Federer great momentum heading into the French Open on May 27. His approach at Madrid was exemplary, and his rivals should have mimicked him instead of moaning about blue clay.

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