Madrid Open 2012: Organizers Would be Foolish to Keep Blue Clay in 2013
The 2012 Madrid Open will be forever known for the blue clay that irritated some of the world's top male players, and the organizers would be smart to get rid of the stuff for next year's tournament.
The tennis gods have spoken.
Both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were adamant about the fact that they won't be attending the 2013 Madrid Open unless the organizers make the switch back to the traditional red surface, according to Yahoo! Sports.
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Let me be clear: The players are being ridiculous about the entire thing and are behaving like prima donnas.
That being said, players like Nadal and Djokovic are the main draws at minor tournaments such as these—tournaments that rely on big names to drive sales. Losing them next year would be the equivalent of the Honda Classic on the PGA tour losing Phil MIckelson and Tiger Woods.
The organizers must surely see the value in appeasing the egos and particularities of these men. The tournament won't do nearly as well without them from a financial perspective, and in a bad economy like Spain's businesses must do everything possible to keep the numbers up.
There are different ways to look at this.
Some would say that the players are being incredibly insensitive by railing against their horrid working conditions while Spain's unemployment numbers are hitting record highs at 24.4 percent, according to BBC.com.
While this is most certainly true, the real hard truth is that people who are suffering under difficult circumstances such as these oftentimes use sports as a means to escape their troubles.
Therefore, it's incumbent upon the organizers to cater to the desires of these selfish players so that the people can see the top athletes in the world rather than a bunch of inferior players duking it out for the title.
People with little money to spend as it is aren't likely to shell out cash if players like Djokovic and Nadal aren't competing.
Taking out the blue clay next year is good for business. It's the smart thing to do, and the organizers would be foolish to do anything else.
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