One is the king of grass, the other the king of clay. On Wednesday, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal will get a unique chance to be king of both.

Four-time Wimbledon champion Federer plays two-time French Open winner Nadal on a customised 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 on Tuesday. "And it ought to be interesting to see who chooses the better tactic."

Organisers needed 19 days and euro 1.2 million ($A1.98 million) to create the court, which divides the surfaces by halves for a unique match where a player can receive on clay and hit a winner on grass - or vice versa.

"The result is not the most important thing. It's about having fun out there," the top-ranked Federer said.

"It's going to be exciting and a good atmosphere. It doesn't always need to be crazy serious out on the match courts."

A sellout crowd of nearly 7,000 is expected at the Palma Arena for the exhibition match, which is backed by the Balearic Islands tourism bureau.

Nadal comes from Mallorca and has the home-court advantage.

"I like the fact that the stadium is located in Mallorca, Rafa's home," Federer said.

"He has been to Basel (Switzerland) after all, and now I've got the opportunity to play at his place for once."

Federer hasn't lost on grass in four years, a 48-match run that includes four straight titles at the All England Club.

The second-ranked Nadal has won a record 72 straight claycourt matches, including two consecutive titles at Roland Garros in Paris.

Nadal holds the overall career edge against Federer at 7-3. He beat the Swiss star 6-4 6-4 in the Monte Carlo final on April 22 to extend his claycourt record against Federer to 4-0.

On grass, Federer leads 1-0, having beating Nadal in four sets in the Wimbledon final last year.

Federer has 10 grand slam titles, but still needs to win the French Open to complete a career of all four major championships.

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