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Madrid Masters’ Magic Box May Disappoint, but the Tennis Is Warming Up Nicely
Published: May 11, 2010
Yes, it’s a harder and slightly faster court than almost anywhere else on the red stuff. And yes, the surface seems grittier and more slippery than the fine surface of a Monte Carlo or a Rome.
The altitude, too, adds its own problems, with balls flying a little more, and the air just a fraction thinner for the demanding lungs of the players working flat out this week in Madrid.
But the atmosphere is also rather different: the warm and gentle notes we’ve grown used to in the foregoing clay venues are simply not here.
There’s a harshness about it, and a discord in the color, the sound, the dimensions.
The court surfaces are a bit too orange, a bit too reminiscent of builders’ sand rather than the softer red of Italian roof tiles.
The digital advertising displays that border the court have a persistent moiré effect on the viewer, vibrating and trembling behind the players.
And not for Madrid the greens and reds of the Mediterranean, nor even the deep sea blue of Barcelona. It’s a chilly ice blue, backed by ranks of steel grey boxes that look like Meccano containers for spectators who have paid maximum money for prime position.
The structure itself, determined to impose the venue’s name on the players, is angular, rectangular, with not a curve in sight. It is, after all, called the Magic Box. But the harshness of its planes and its materials, and its closed-in design, produce a cold echo rather than a warm reverberation. It sounds like an indoor arena. It sounds almost, in fact, like an indoor swimming pool.
Yet it suffers from the curses of the outdoors: gusty winds, harsh shadows—made even worse by the high, boxy walls and overhangs—and blinding sun when the chilly air that currently swathes Europe gives way to some summer warmth.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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