World doubles finals offer more amusement

JAKARTA (JP): The ATP Tour is considering adding entertainment to the world doubles finals program here in November in a bid to attract a better turn-out.

Steve Casey, ATP Tour communications director, said on Tuesday that organizers had learned a lot from Super 9 tournaments in Europe which had been successful in luring more spectators to tennis events in the past season.

"It's our new strategy to draw families to the stadium. We want them to have a real day out and bring home a great memory about tennis," Casey said.

The Super 9 tournaments, the biggest apart from Grand Slams, provide the spectators with amusement programs outside the court and let them interview the winning players after matches.

Casey, however, refused to go into detail about the entertainment package which will be brought in for the Nov. 22-26 World Doubles finals here. Nor would he confirm whether the entertainment program during the season-ending tournament would be a carbon-copy of that in Europe.

"I do believe that the tournament will be better this year," he said.

He admitted that last year was "a bad year" for the world doubles championships. "It was the first time the tournament was held in Jakarta," he argued. "Jakarta is still in the learning curve."

Only a few spectators turned out to watch the matches at the Senayan indoor tennis stadium last year. Many tennis observers blamed the organizers for not promoting such a world-class tournament enough. Only eight best pairs are eligible to play in the finals.

The ATP Tour moved the tournament from Johannesburg to Jakarta for two successive years, but it may bid to extend the contract for another three-year term. Johannesburg played host to the year-end championship for five years in a row.

"Jakarta has the chance to win another three-year term. It is a thriving city with a booming economy," Casey said.

The ATP Tour, the organization which unites professional men's tennis players throughout the world, sanctions 10 tournaments in Asia Pacific a year. A total of 85 tournaments in 38 countries are sanctioned by the association.

The year-end championship for singles players remains in Frankfurt, Germany. (amd)