Mutua Madrid Open 2014 - all preparations are well under way - UBITENNIS

Mutua Madrid Open 2014 – all preparations are well under way

By Staff
7 Min Read

Gerard Tsobanian, President and CEO of the Mutua Madrid Open, combined ATP and WTA event preparing players for the French Open in Paris held a working media-breakfast during which he summarised the status of the preparations for the 2014 edition of the tournament, that is to take place between the 2nd and 11th of May in the Caja Mágica. We want to keep bringing the tournament closer to Madrid’s citizens. This is not an elitist tournament. Last year we lowered ticket prices and this year we have frozen them. This tournament belongs to the citizens of Madrid and to Spaniards and we are very proud to stage it every year”, said Gerard Tsobanian.

Sponsors guarantee yet another year of solid performance in Madrid

Regarding sponsorship, the Tournament President was delighted to announce the addition of French catering group Sodexo to the tournament’s group of sponsors. Sodexo has provided the catering services to the Mutua Madrid Open for several years, but starting in 2014 it will be an active sponsor, advertising itself at a tennis tournament for the first time. Gerard Tsobanian spoke of the importance to the Mutua Madrid Open of the agreement reached with Inditex, one of the most important textile groups in the world, through its Pull & Bear brand to provide the uniforms for the ball-boys and model/ball-boys for the tournament, and the return as a sponsor of Air Europa, which worked with the Mutua Madrid Open between 2004 and 2011 and will do so again as from now. In addition, he highlighted the importance of Corte Inglés, one of the best-known Spanish companies around the world, which formed part of the tournament last year and will be back this time around to do the same.

Presentation of the Mutua Madrid Open 2014 (c)MutuaMadridOpen
Presentation of the Mutua Madrid Open 2014 (c)MutuaMadridOpen

All these brands therefore join the Mutua Madrid Open’s group of sponsors, which is formed by Mutua Madrileña, the Council of Madrid, Estrella Damm, Mercedes Benz, Ricoh, Ohlimpia, Dunlop, AC Hoteles Marriott, ABC, Adecco, Prosegur, Marca and Schweppes. Regarding ticket sales, Gerard Tsobanian announced that there was a 50 per cent increase compared to the same time in 2013. The President of the Mutua Madrid Open stated that there has been an effort to try and focus on opening up to the international market, which is why last year a new ticket-sales platform was launched to allow their purchase in six languages.

Mutua Madrid Open will be televised live via several TV-channels

Finally, it has been confirmed that the 2014 Mutua Madrid Open will be broadcast by La Sexta and Nitro television channels, as was last year’s tournament.

Manolo Santana outlines his expectations for the ATP-tournament 2014

In a very interesting interview the tournament media has done with the former world number one, Santana is quoted: What is for sure is that the tournament is here to stay. It is recognised worldwide, and we have to try to do the best we can to ensure that the ATP continues to show confidence in us, and to improve the things that need improving, for the crowds, logically because they are the ones who pay, want the facilities to be in perfect condition, the courts to be perfect and obviously that all the players come.” – with regards to the future of the Spanish tennis, the Madrilenian Santana is optimistic: It is incredible. It’s marvellous that we have two players like Nadal and Ferrer in the top five in the world. And they’re backed up by players like Almagro, who is an incredible player, Verdasco, Feliciano and Robredo, who are fighting to remain at the top and that’s not easy but they do it. Then we have Bautista, who did incredibly in Australia, and also García López and Andújar, who is a player who does well on all surfaces and I like his style of play. We have a great group of players but obviously some of them might slip away. We have to carry on supporting Rafa, because he is a foundation not only of Spanish tennis, but also world tennis. When Rafa plays, demand for tickets, interviews… go off the scale. It’s normal, because for me he’s not a normal sportsman, and we’re very lucky that all of us in the tennis family have him close to us.”

Tournament Director counts on Serena Williams for the WTA event

“I don’t think anyone can defeat Williams at a Grand Slam, or any other important tournament for that matter, when she is at her best level. She is extremely potent and has enormous self-confidence. The American almost always beats Sharapova, Ni La and Azarenka, who are her closest rival. She has tremendous power. All her shots are definitive. Her forehand is impeccable and her concentration is extraordinary, she’s a true champion. I think that Sharapova and Azarenka need to have a very good day to defeat her, or that another player causes a huge surprise, but I think at all the major tournaments Serena is the favourite.” Santana explains the ‘special’ status he sees for the American given she is healthy and focused to play. 

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