So, in the name of innovation, was the blue clay really worth it?
Certainly a few more people across the world now know about the Madrid Open, but surely not for the right reasons.
Newspapers, websites and social media were all full of stories of player unrest about having to play on what was clearly an ill-prepared surface.
Such was the anger among the players that the event now faces a situation where two of the world's top three male stars - one of which is the local hero - say they won't return unless the traditional red clay is relaid.
I wonder what title sponsors Mutua, not to mention many others, feel about that.
Quite frankly it didn't take a rocket scientist to foresee this.
From the moment I heard that the blue clay is actually produced in a different way to its red sister, my natural assumption was that it had to play at least a little differently.
And duly the shambles ensued.
Doubtless there are many of you out there who did think it improved the viewing experience - the ball is supposed to stand out better against a blue background - but the key point here is why on earth would players want to play on a surface that plays markedly different to what will be on offer at one of their biggest tournaments of the year, the French Open, just three weeks later?
With all due respect to the Masters 1000 events on the ATP World Tour (or the Premier Mandatory ones of the WTA) they are, in the main, preparation for the Grand Slams, the four pinnacles of the sport.
Madrid already faced the problem of playing markedly quicker due to the altitude - the city is more than 600m above sea level. By changing the surface, organisers turned the courts into some of the slickest seen in today's game.
While Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were both unequivocal with their vows of a 2013 boycott, the latter was particuarly scatching of the man who signed the change off, Adam Helfant.
The former ATP chief duly defended himself, speaking of the need to innovate as many had done - most notably the Madrid organisers.
That argument doesn't wash with me. Blue courts are, in fact, nothing new. It's just they are not usually seen in Europe in May.
When the side effects are so drastically bad, what is the point?
The ball would now appear to be very much in Helfant's successor's court, namely Brad Drewett.
Yet while he has just had another item thrown into his overflowing in-tray, Madrid also showed he may want to revisit one of the folders which has been on his desk ever since he took the reins at the start of the year.
The amount of time being taken between points again reached ridiculous levels in the Spanish capital, with Nadal the most high-profile culprit.
It is worth, at this point, opening the ATP's rulebook which states: "Play shall be continuous, except that a maximum of 25 seconds may elapse from the moment the ball goes out of play at the end of one point to the time the ball is struck for the next point."
The initial penalty for flouting this rule is a time violation, a second resulting in a code violation and a warning. A second code violation results in a point penalty, a third in a game penalty.
Yet how often do we see a point taken away? Answer: Hardly ever.
The Grand Slams (and the WTA) employ a tougher rule - they say no more than 20 seconds should be allowed between points.
Let's see what happens at the French Open. I challenge you to put a stopwatch on Nadal in his first outing on Court Philippe Chatrier. I can guarantee he'll take more than 20 seconds on a regular basis.
On this issue, both the airwaves and the likes of Twitter were abuzz with complaints which could basically be summed up as "why isn't anything being done?" And they weren't just coming from frustrated fans. Notably many of the moans were coming from commentators and ex-players concerned about their sport.
Officials who are currently governing during a boom time for tennis would do well to take note.
Instead of supposed innovation in a bid to attract even more new people to the sport, the decision-makers should listen to tennis' current fans, for some may just start to drift away.
Do you agree with Andy? You can let us know your views on the blue clay and the time rulings by emailing us at tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com.
