Madrid Open 2012: What Tournament Victory Means for Roger Federer at French Open
In one of the final preps for the French Open, Roger Federer breezed through the court in Spain, securing an all-important victory at the Madrid Open.
Despite the blue clay in Madrid being gimmicky and an unsuitable surface for determining overall skill level, this is a great sign for Fed-Ex at Roland Garros.
Let's dive deeper to take a look at what we have learned about the best three players in the world.
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Djokovic was easily the biggest—or at least most vocal—hater of Madrid's blue clay surface. At one point, he said he either needed football cleats or help from Chuck Norris to play on these courts.
Whatever that means.
More importantly, though, is the fact that the Djokovic's loss to Janko Tipsarevic marks the fourth event out of his past five that he has failed to win. The Serb is still the No. 1 player in the world, but his deficiencies on clay—whether it be red, blue, orange or chartreuse—are easily noticeable.
The French Open remains Djokovic's worst major. Last year when he won the Madrid Open, he eventually fell to Federer in the semifinals at Roland Garros.
How he does in Rome this week will be a good indicator for Djokovic's chances at the French Open.
Nadal is the King of Clay. Madrid's surface wasn't really clay, however, so if you are a Nadal fan, don't be worried that he lost in the third round.
You should be worried about how he lost.
Nadal was up 5-2 in the third set against Fernando Verdasco in Madrid, but inexplicably dropped five straight sets to lose the match.
It was the first time Nadal has ever lost to Verdasco.
He was clearly in a negative frame of mind about the court he so dearly despised, and I'm sure that his thoughts played a part in his loss as much as the actual surface of the court did.
Nadal is still my favorite for the French Open, but he will have to get his mental game right before then.
Roger Federer
Fed-Ex proved once again that a positive attitude can sometimes go just as far as talent. Not only did Federer keep mostly quiet about the surface, but he did his job and strolled through the tournament.
Remember, the last time Federer won at Madrid was in 2009. That was also the only year he has won at Roland Garros.
These are clearly different situations than from 2009, but Federer has all the momentum going into the second major of the year.
While it may be easy to count out the older players, don't forget about the 30-year-old. He is primed for a big month.
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