AN ATP MASTERS SERIES EVENT
11th - 19th OCTOBER
MMMM 2007 : 2007
MADRID WILL HOST A COMBINED EVENT
The event will be celebrated on clay court 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 was announced today in New York. Madrid will organize from 2009 the first combined tennis tournament (with men and women competition) that is celebrated in Europe. The event, with 6.5 million Euros in prize money, will receive the best players of the circuits of the ATP and WTA, and one will play in the Magic Box in May, 2009 and on clay court.Madrid received last March the confirmation of a women tennis tournament from the WTA. Today, the ATP confirmed Madrid as one of the cities that will hold a big tournament from 2009. The Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid organizers have the license to create a combine event at the highest level of both circuits. The key for this kind of tournament in the ATP and WTA circuit is that the participation of the best tennis players is mandatory. So it will be guaranteed that 56 best men and women players of each circuit will be in Madrid fighting for 6.5 million Euros. Madrid places into the top of the world of the tennis with this new configuration of the calendar for 2009. The team of Ion Tiriac adds to the select circle of main tournaments of the ATP and the WTA together with the appointments of Miami and Indian Wells, which will support their format of 12 and 11 days, and China (Shangai and Pekin have the licenses to organize the tournaments in China). In the same way the ATP confirmed that Rome, Cincinati, Canada and Paris will organize tournaments of “level 1000” (the same level as Masters Series today), men tournaments that also will be mandatory for the players and that will distribute 2.5 million dollars. Montecarlo will keep his status of 1000 but it will not be mandatory. "This one is a historical date for the Spanish sport and especially 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 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 at the highest level in 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 the world capital of the sport and the culture, and it is a very good new that this city hold a combined event with the same prize money. The Magic Box will be one of the better 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. "The ATP Circuit in 2009 will have the best tennis players of the world playing in the best facilities of the world in the best moments of the year. For it 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 will obtain sponsors' major support and televisions ", said Etienne de Villiers, Executive Chairman of the ATP." Having created more combined events as the one of Madrid, we are leading tennis to another level. I believe that now we have a clear tournamentr for our players, sponsors and spectators " The Magic Box, the facilities of luxury A tournament of this importance could not be realized without facilities according to his level. The Olympic facilities of the Magic Box will be the house of this combined event from 2009 that will be played on clay court. There will be used the 3 stadiums of the the Magic Box as well as 11 outdoors courts. The facilities hold all kinds 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. |