The Mutua Madrid Open, or how tennis enthusiast like to call it La Caja Magica, is one of the 13 clay tournaments during the spring of the ATP tour. It is one of the Masters 1000 played during the year. However, this tournament was not always a clay court tournament. In fact, it has had some interesting surface changes.
The tournament first started out as a hard court tournament. I find this strange because this is one of the tournaments leading up to the French Open. I feel like a surface change weeks before the French Open is not ideal for many players. Playing on clay court is a huge adjustmentwhen playing on hard court. When playing on clay players can expect the surface to: slow down the speed of the ball, reduce the skid of the ball on the surface of the court, and cause a high bounce of the ball. While on a hard surface players expect the surface to: speed up the speed of the ball, the bounce of the ball is high as well as predictable. Therefore the tournament changing their surface to clay was much needed.
What to Do in the City?
You will never be bored outside of the tournament grounds. There is an abundance of activities to do around the city.Whether you want to see a historical monument or perhaps see a flamenco show. Madrid has everything! A must see is El Palacio Real. Tickets are relatively inexpensive as well! The entrance fee is 5 dollars while group tours are 8 dollars. Another must see in Madrid is a flamenco show. The top places to see these flamenco shows are: Corral de la Morería, Casa Patas, and Torres Bermejas.
Madrid is not only a great place to see tennis but also a great place culturally!
Ace Tennis Tips 