ATP News : 2007


MADRID WILL ORGANISE IN 2009 THE FIRST TENNIS COMBINED EVENT IN EUROPE

The event, it will be celebrated on clay court surface in the Magic Box from May, 2009
The best tennis players of the world (men and women) will compete for 6.5 million Euros in prize money


New York, 2007, 31st August. The confirmation is announced today in New York. Madrid will organize from 2009 the first combined tennis tournament
(with men and women competiton) celebrated in Europe. The event, with 6.5 million Euros in prize money, will receive the best players from ATP and WTA and will be played in the "Magic Box", on clay court in May 2009.

Last March Madrid received confirmation of a women tennis tournament from the WTA. Today, the ATP confirmed Madrid as one of the cities that will hold a great tournament from 2009. The Organizers of the Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid have the license to create a combine event at the highest level of both circuits.

The key of this new kind of tournament in ATP and WTA circuits is that, the participation of the best tennis players is mandatory. This means that, it will be guaranteed that 56 best men and women players of each circuit will be playing in Madrid, fighting for 6.5 million Euros.

Madrid is placed into the top of the tennis world with this new configuration of the calendar for 2009. The team of Ion Tiriac adds itself to the select circle of the main tournaments of ATP and WTA, and joins with the appointments of Miami, Indian Wells (which will support their format of 12 and 11 days) and China (where Shangai and Pekin have the licenses to organize the tournaments there).

In the same way ATP confirmed that Rome, Cincinnati, Canada and Paris will organize tournaments of “level 1000” (with the same level of the Masters Series tournaments today), male tournaments where also it will be mandatory for the players to play and where it will be distributed 2.5 million dollars. Montecarlo will keep his status of 1000 but its participation of tennis players will not be mandatory.

"This one is a historical date for the Spanish sport and especially for the tennis. We are really proud of confirming that Madrid will hold one event of this size. For one week the best tennis players of the world such as Federer, Henin, Nadal, Sharapova, Djokovic, Jankovic… etc will be in Madrid in the same week and in the same facilities. It is going to be undoubtedly another level of tournament, close to the Grand Slam", said proud Manolo Santana, the Tournament Director.

For Gérard Tsobanian, Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid General Manager, the announcement is one step more" to reach the goal we get when we decided to come to Madrid. They have been 5 years of hard work, doing the bases in order to have in Madrid one event in the highest level according with facilities of international recognition. Today the countdown starts in order to the fans of the tennis and the sport in general can enjoy in less than one year and a half one of the most sport event of the world.”

"Madrid is one of the world capitals of the sport and the culture, and it is a very good new that this city will run a combined event with the same prize money. The Magic Box will be one of the best tennis facilities of the world and it will be the best place to see the best ATP and WTA tennis players ", Larry Scott declared, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

"ATP´s Circuit in 2009 will have the best tennis players of the world playing in the best facilities of the world and in the best moments of the year. Because of this, we have created a new level of tournaments that will emphasize the essence of our sport, it will attract major investment to our facilities and it will obtain sponsors' major support and televisions ", said Etienne de Villiers, Executive Chairman of ATP." Having created more combined events as the one of Madrid, we are leading tennis to another level. I do believe that now we have a clear tournament for our players, sponsors and spectators"

The Magic Box, luxury facilities
A tournament with this importance could not be realized without a top class facilities, according to this level. The Olympic facilities of the Magic Box will be the house of this combined event from 2009 that it will be played on clay court surface. There, it will be used the 3 stadiums of the Magic Box as well as 11 outdoors courts.

The facilities hold different kind of areas, like restaurants VIP, players' rooms, press’ room, TV centre, shops of merchandising, restaurants for the public with a big gastronomic offer, … the whole new experience.



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