By Mark Winters
One of Tournament Director Ralf Weber’s responsibilities is to discuss the ‘State of Halle’ as the Gerry Weber Open concludes. Always candid, he provided insight about why the 24th championship was such a success.
Halle, Westfalia, Germany – It is all part of bringing the curtain down on another championship. Tournament Director, Ralf Weber has handled the task forever or so it seems. The Gerry Weber Open, the ATP 500 event took place in the German countryside in the town of Halle between June 13th and June 19th. As play concluded, the candid Weber talked about the highlights of the tournament’s 24th year.
He began his “State of Halle” press conference, noting that the poor “weather conditions” did little to dim the mood of the spectators and the players. This year’s attendance was roughly 110,000, which given the daily rain, was impressive. Even more significant, since it began in 1993, almost 2.5 million people have passed through the gates of the lush facility that features deep hues of green and purple decorating the booths and signage found on the grounds.
Ticket sales tell a story and according to Weber, 2016 was an award winning narrative. All the box seats and the revolving banners, featuring company advertising on center court, were sold almost before the accountants could reach for the sales ledger. Television coverage, bolstered by the combined involvement of ZDF and Eurosport, was the best ever. In addition, “The tournament could be seen on free TV.”
Combined with the written coverage, the Gerry Weber Open is becoming “a significant global brand.” Weber added, “There are now broadcasts in 140 countries and reports from almost 400 journalists from around the world. Even the social networks reached up to 25 million people a day, and the online site listed hundreds of thousands of hits during the tournament week.”
As important as the “fan feel” Gerry Weber, the tournament owner, and Ralf, his son, have created, the players are really the key. They draw attention to and are the reason spectators purchase tickets. A glance at the singles draw proves the point. There was a fashionable mix (and, of course, Gerry Weber is a clothing manufacturing titan) of youngsters on the way up such as Borna Coric of Croatia and Taylor Fritz of US, and already established competitors like David Ferrer of Spain, Ivo Karlovic of Croatia and Viktor Troicki of Serbia. Dominic Theim of Austria was part of this group and so was Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Playing at home, the German contingent was strong including qualifier Benjamin Becker, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Florian Mayer, who was playing with a Protected Ranking (PR), (and ended up winning the title).
When it comes to ideal, the semifinal between the “Super Talent” (as Weber called him) Alexander Zverev of Germany and Roger Federer was perfect. As readers known, the youngster triumphed 7-6, 5-7, 6-3, but Federer remains storied in Halle. As Weber said, “He is the leading figure in the history of the tournament. He is the face of the Gerry Weber Open. He just loves this place, the fans and the special atmosphere. It is good that the tournament has a lifetime contract with him. We have an exceptional partnership.”
Twenty-fives years is a “Silver Anniversary.” The planning to make it both extraordinary and memorable began, within seconds, after the last ball was hit. Gerry and Ralf Weber have established a tournament that is truly magic, yet they will find a way to make it even better. On a personal note, having attended the previous 24 events, I can’t wait to be in Halle for the 2017 Gerry Weber Open.
