ATP Challenger Anif: Organizer Gerald Mandl - "Are proud that we are making a difference"
From July 4th, Austria's third largest tennis tournament will take place in Anif (Salzburg) with the ATP 125,000 dollar challenger event. tennisnet.com spoke with organizer Gerald Mandl about the special challenges in times of Corona, the field of participants and the cooperation with the Austrian Tennis Association (ÖTV), which is in need of improvement.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Jun 15, 2021, 08:21 pm
It's been ten years since the last Challenger tournament took place in Salzburg - but tennis is celebrating its comeback in the city of Mozart in 2021. "The coronavirus made it very difficult to get the whole thing going. But the country supported us very well and we are now looking forward to getting started soon," said organizer Gerald Mandl in an interview with tennisnet.com .
On July 4th, the starting signal for the "Salzburg Open", the third largest tennis tournament in Austria, will be given in Anif. The entry list is led by world number 56. Yoshihito Nishioka, from an Austrian point of view, Dennis Novak and Jurij Rodionov, among others, will start in the south of Salzburg - should they not reach the second week at Wimbledon. In addition, the Austrian national champion will receive a wildcard for the main competition.
Full house possible
The appointment in the second week of Wimbledon could also cause one or two surprises. Because the appearance of an absolute superstar is not excluded. "We even have to keep a wildcard in hand for a player between positions eleven and 50 up to the day before the draw," reports Mandl.
There will be no problems for players coming from England, "the entry restrictions have fallen in coordination with the federal government," said Mandl. Almost all corona rules in Austria will fall on July 1st. Anyone who has been tested, vaccinated or recovered is allowed to use the facility. Up to 970 fans will attend the games every day.
"Especially on the weekend of the finals, we want to get the stadium full," says Mandl. Two public viewing areas will be set up in Anif so that this can succeed in times of a European football championship and the crucial days at Wimbledon. So nothing should stand in the way of the tennis festival on the Anifer clay courts.
ATP 250 tournament in the SV Grödig football stadium?
If Mandl and Co. have their way, the tournament, endowed with 125,000 US dollars, should only represent the beginning of a success story. Because an indoor challenger event is planned in Salzburg in autumn, according to Mandl, negotiations are currently still in progress with the state government. But an ATP 250 tournament in the city of Mozart could soon become a reality.
The venue for this is to be the SV Grödig football stadium. "We talked to the stadium owner about it and the state government would be ready to do so. First of all, we want to get the Challenger tournaments off the ground well. But if things go well, we want to make it happen in the future," explains Mandl. However, further questions such as the issue of licensing still need to be clarified.
No cooperation with the ÖTV
However, they do not rely on the support of the Austrian Tennis Association (ÖTV). "We are autonomous and have no points of contact with the association. We forego support because (in discussions, editor's note) relatively little came out of it," said Mandl.
It is, however, interesting to observe that the resulting "pressure on the association's side" suddenly pushes even challengers out of the ground, "says Mandl, referring to the event taking place from September 4th to 11th, 2021 on the grounds of the TC Tulln . In the past few years, the ÖTV "unfortunately very overslept" to hold smaller tournaments.
How important challenger events are for the tennis-related development of a country can be seen in Italy or France, says Mandl. So it is good and right to make up for this step in Austria now: "If there are more tournaments again and again over a few years, we will certainly bring out some top 100 players. That is already certain."