PALMA DE MALLORCA, Balearic Islands — One is the king of grass, the other the king of clay. On Wednesday, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal will be king of both.
Four-time Wimbledon champion Federer plays two-time French Open winner Nadal in an exhibition on a customized half-clay, half-grass court on this Spanish island.
“It’ll be fun to find out what it’s like to play on a court with mixed surfaces,” Federer said Tuesday. “And it ought to be interesting to see who chooses the better tactic.”
Organizers needed 19 days and $1.63 million to create the court, which divides the surfaces by halves for a unique match in which a player can receive on clay and hit a winner on grass — or vice versa.