“Bring clowns and elephants on court,” Eric Butorac reveals how Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reacted to the idea of ‘blue clay’
Eric Butorac recalled a meeting where Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer were asked to give their votes to blue clay courts.
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Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal (Images via Bleacher Report, X, The Korea Herald)
When the proposal for blue clay courts for tennis came, the Big 3 of tennis straightaway rejected the idea. Former doubles player Eric Butorac, while talking with Andy Roddick on the latter’s podcast, recalled the meeting where Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and other players had to give their vote for the idea.
Butorac also had to give his reaction and he said the color would have been looked better on TV. When it was 14-time French Open champion Nadal’s chance, he wasted no time in saying that he preferred to play on red clay. Djokovic was also of the same opinion, but Federer’s answer was not straight to the point as he ridiculed the idea.
And then Rafa goes next and Rafa starts with, 'All clay should be red.' And then he goes on a Spanish tirade which he then finishes and Giorgio, the board rep looks at us all and goes, 'Rafa votes no.' And then goes to Novak and Novak goes, 'It's slippery, it's dangerous. I vote no.' So I finally get to Fed and Fed goes I think, 'Blue clay's a good idea and then we should bring out the clowns and the elephants and have a circus on the court.'Eric Butorac said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast
Watch the clip of the podcast here:
Roger with the zingers though ⚡️
— Served with Andy Roddick (@Served_Podcast) September 12, 2024
If you haven’t checked out our episode with Eric Butorac, it is filled to the brim with stories like this ?https://t.co/7BOLh2mHAQ pic.twitter.com/4LYjNBghkK
Federer retired in 2022, while Nadal is still playing, though he has been dealing with form and fitness issues. Djokovic still plans to play in the next few years, and he has time and again said he won’t be bidding farewell to the game anytime soon.
Roger Federer once reacted differently to blue clay courts
The 2012 Madrid Open was played on blue-clay courts, as they were dyed blue for better visibility. Novak Djokovic, who crashed out in the first round, threatened not to play next year if the courts weren’t changed back to red.
Rafael Nadal also said that if the same happened next year, he wouldn’t participate. Roger Federer, however, stated that a good clay court player needs to adapt to the surface.
If you want to be a good clay court player, you must be able to play everywhere. Madrid has taken a gamble with blue clay.Roger Federer said at a press conference back then
Federer, however, also acknowledged that blue-clay courts were slippery. He called for a discussion to decide whether players should continue to play on the surface. Federer also went on to win the title.
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