Final curtain falls on ATP Thailand Open
The ATP Thailand Open, which concluded in October, has been consigned to history. The tournament, after 11 years, will no longer be played in Thailand, dealing a debilitating blow to Thai tennis. Organisers BEC Tero Entertainment confirmed yesterday that
BEC Tero managing director Brian L Marcar said the ATP had decided to move the tournament to Shenzhen, China, from 2014, instead of holding in Bangkok, which has been hosting it for more than a decade.
“I would like to express our most sincere appreciation to everyone who has supported the event over the past 11 years, from the tournament’s loyal sponsors to the ATP, the players and the tennis fans. We are looking at other opportunities to stage invitational tennis events featuring the world’s top tennis players here in Thailand,” the BEC boss said.
“The Thailand Open has been Thailand’s premier annual sporting event for the past 11 years and has seen many of the world’s top players compete for the prestigious trophy.”
The inaugural Open was staged in 2003, following the tennis fever stirred by super star Paradorn Srichaphan, who took Thai tennis to a new level by reaching world No 9 and wining five ATP titles.
World No 1s Juan Carlos Ferraro, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Novak Djokivic and Rafael Nadal had taken part in the tournament with fans fighting for tickets to see the superstars at the Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani. However, over the years its popularity waned mainly because of serious lack of local stars and eleventh hour withdrawals of top players.
Monday’s opening round of this year’s tournament was a good example of how quiet the tournament has become with fewer than 30 fans occupying the arena during the day session. Canadian Milos Raonic lifted the men’s singles title this year without knowing that he would be the last champion of this event.
Kermode takes helm at ATP
Britain’s Chris Kermode took over as the head of international men’s tennis on Wednesday after being appointed executive chairman and president of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals).
Kermode, 48, is the man behind the ATP World Tour Finals, which have taken place in London for the past five years, and the tournament director of the Queen’s Club Championships. He was the unanimous choice of the ATP board.
