Irrepressible tennis promoter Ion Tiriac won’t bow to criticism from world No.1 Novak Djokovic and plans to introduce “psychedelic” balls to next year’s Madrid Masters.
Djokovic on Wednesday said it was so difficult to play on the new, blue clay court in Madrid he considered asking Chuck Norris for help.
However Tiriac, the tournament’s owner, is hardly bothered by the sarcastic comments and is so sure of his knack for innovation that he is working on a plan to use balls that could well be defined as “psychedelic”.
“We are also going to improve the ball,” Tiriac told DPA.
“We’re thinking fluorescent green or fluorescent orange, which hold light better and work better in contrast to blue clay.”
The ATP told DPA that they had heard nothing of the Romanian tycoon’s plans to change balls too.
However, the proposal put forward by Tiriac – who was himself a Davis Cup captain and coach before he turned his hand to business – is not really revolutionary in the world of tennis.
After all, white balls were left behind more than three decades ago in favour of the yellow balls that are currently in use.
The Madrid tournament this year implemented for the first time a blue clay surface that differs from the traditional orange clay.
A move met with strong criticism from the players, led by Djokovic and world No.2 Rafael Nadal.
“This is not tennis, either I need football shoes or some advice on how to play on this court,” Djokovic complained on Tuesday after making his tournament debut.
Nadal noted that Djokovic was just trying to be funny, but agreed with his criticism.
“I was in the Players’ Council (when this was discussed) and I tried to prevent this from happening,” the Spaniard said on Wednesday after starting his run in Madrid.
“I think it’s a bit far from being a clay court. I asked the ATP to allow me to play with grass shoes, which improve the grip on the court, but there is a rule that says you can’t.”
The players complain that this surface makes them insecure.
Sliding into the ball is a move that is often used on clay to be faster in response to the rival’s shots.
In fact, Djokovic is one of only a few players who can also do that on cement, which is both difficult and dangerous.
At some point, however, one needs to stop, to halt the sliding, and that is not easy to do on Madrid’s blue clay.
“It looks like the court is too slippery and we have to fix that,” Tiriac admitted.
“But today, five days into the tournament, I am more convinced than ever that blue clay is a great step forward.”