The calculated risk of Novak Djokovic

It's a week of mixed blessing for the ATP World Tour. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic has pulled the plug on the Madrid tournament for the second year in succession. Meanwhile, well to the east, Roger Federer has been feeling jolly and fulfilling his ambassadorial duties at the first Istanbul Open.

The Istanbul tournament might not even exist were it not for Federer's apparently unshakable thirst for experiencing new cultures. This guy is the greatest Swiss explorer since Bertrand Piccard, although I imagine the Turkish promoters have guaranteed that Federer won't have to poke around for gold or diamonds to make the trip financially worthwhile. The Istanbul Open is an ATP 250, technically a lowly, entry-level event. But it allows the hosts to pay appearance fees.

By contrast, Madrid is part of the elite, nine-event Masters 1000 series. Those tournaments are forbidden to pay appearance money, and playing them is mandatory for any player whose ranking qualifies him for the main draw. Thus, Djokovic's decision to skip it is noteworthy for a number of reasons.

http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/12793054/tennis-calculated-risk-novak-djokovic

I am tempted to join facebook to be able to log on and comment about how the espn tennis experts are idiots...quite frankly, smart move, the clay of Madrid is very different from the clay of Roland Garros...much faster...it's a smart tournament to skip because it doesn't really prepare you for the French.