As you might know there have been arguments about the tight schedule of the tennis player between the player representatives and the ATP for many years. One of the recent years’ complaints was for instance that the season lasts longer and longer, now until late November with the Masters Cup followed by the Davis Cup. This leaves the players not enough time to recover from a long season and of course cuts short the preparation time for the next season.
The latest complaint concerns the Australian Open: players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal wouldn’t mind if the Australian Open was moved to February. Rafa argued: “Why play one of the most important tournaments one week after the beginning of the season?”
Andy Murray agreed with his rival Nadal and added another wish thinking of Wimbledon: according to him there is not enough time between the French Open and Wimbledon which makes it difficult to switch from clay court to lawn.
Let’s wait for the reaction of the ATP where recently some changes took place and Adam Helfant became new chairman and president…
Slovakian glamour girl, Daniela Hantuchova, is the latest to confirm her attendance at the Brisbane International in January.
The world number 19 was a semifinalist at the Australian Open in 2008 and broke into the top 10 when she reached number 5 in August 2002.
She will be joined by French Open Champion Ana Ivanovic and reigning Australian Women’s Hardcourt Champion Na Li in the women’s draw.
The men’s draw boasts Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marcos Baghdatis, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet and Mardy Fish with the player cut off date, for the tournament ,on the 21 November.
Daniela Hantuchova said “I am really excited about returning to Australia and playing a strong field in the lead up to the Grand Slam.
“I took home some really nice memories last year. It was something very special for me.
“With my preparation this year and the quality field at the Brisbane International, I will be even more ready.
“I love Australia and have played in tournaments there since 2001. I am looking forward to playing in this new event and challenging some high quality players in the lead up to the Australian Open.”
The Australian Open is slowly starting to launch their own TV advertising campaign in Australia. The tournament is scheduled to run from January 21st to February 1st. Take a look at their new ad and let me know what you think!
Sydney has embarked on a secret initiative to snatch the Australian Open tennis tournament from Melbourne, the Sydney Morning Herald said, citing Events NSW Chief Executive Geoff Parmenter.
The pitch involves a plan to build a multimillion dollar stadium at Glebe Island, west of central Sydney, that could host the Grand Slam event once Melbourne’s contract expires in 2016, the newspaper reported.
Sydney will face competition from overseas cities, with Shanghai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi all preparing campaigns to hold the Asian Grand Slam event, the newspaper said. The Australian Open is worth more than A$100 million ($64 million) to Victoria state’s economy, it said.
At the 2009 Australian Open men’s and women’s singles winners will receive an 18 percent increase from last year. Bringing the total prize money to $15.6 million.
It was announced on Wednesday that the singles winners will receive an additional $1.15 million each based on the current exchange rates.
The Australian Open is due to begin on the January 19th and finish on the February 1st. It will feature the prospect of Roger Federer winning his 14th major title to equal Pete Sampras’ record.
Federer lost in the semifinals at Melbourne Park to Novak Djokovic this year, then fell to Rafael Nadal in the final at the French Open and Wimbledon. Federer beat Andy Murray in the U.S. Open final for his 13th major.
Djokovic and Maria Sharapova are the defending champions. The tournament is set for its first night women’s final on Saturday, Jan. 30, following a move it made in 2005 to a night men’s singles championship on the final Sunday.
Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood said the tournament hopes to improve on this year’s attendance figure of 605,000, which bettered the 2007 total of 550,000.
