[CmonAussie]

Originally Posted by Jeronimo

Lets say that the ATP and WTA is agree with a 5th grand slam.. IT WONT BE IN MADRID! Why?

europe 2 grand slams
north america 1 grand slam
oceania 1 grand slam..

then why not Johannesbourg (SOUTH AFRICA) or RIO DE JANEIRO (BRAZIL) Maybe TOKYO (JAPAN)..other continents deserve the spot more than Europe... since they already have 2

you`re talking too much sense jerenoimo
...
yes in an ideal world both Asia & Sth America would have slams & Africa would atleast have a couple of ATP events, but it`s unlikely to happen

###
atleast tennis is much more international than golf
~~in golf you`ve got 3/4 majors in America
~~the next 6 biggest events are also in America!
*therefore America has 9/10 biggest golf tourneys [the British Open being the exception]!

>>i like the fact that tennis authorities have atleast cooperated to the point of making the big events spread internationally: slams in 3-continents, masters series in 3, ATP tourneys in 6 continents

[cmurray]

Originally Posted by mangoes

The scary thing is that money talks.........let's hope that idiot Mr. Disney doesn't jump on this train. And before anyone considers it a crazy notion to assume Mr. Disney would give this any thought, consider his standards thus far: Round Robin, Restructuring the tournaments point system....

Fortunately, DeVilliers has nothing to do with grandslams - that's the ITF's domain - and hopefully they aren't as susceptible to the almighty $$.

[scoobs]

Originally Posted by cmurray

Fortunately, DeVilliers has nothing to do with grandslams - that's the ITF's domain - and hopefully they aren't as susceptible to the almighty $$.

I don't think there's a chance in hell that the ITF or the Grand Slams themselves would do more than look down at this suggestion for the grubby, greedy piece of shit that it is.

The Grand Slams are in rude health - attendances at all continue to improve, coverage continues to improve, and all are laying out money to enhance their facilities to cater for the fans, for the players and for the elements.

They have awesome tradition behind them that makes them truly special events, and each has its own unique feel that makes it even better.

Tiriac wants it to be like F1 where all the cities fight to host the event year in, year out and those who don't offer enough don't get on the schedule - but fuck that.

[trixtah]

Originally Posted by mangoes

The scary thing is that money talks.........let's hope that idiot Mr. Disney doesn't jump on this train. And before anyone considers it a crazy notion to assume Mr. Disney would give this any thought, consider his standards thus far: Round Robin, Restructuring the tournaments point system....

Disney knows his days are numbered. Don't be surprised if he buys into the idea

[Rrrainer]

i don't get why tiriac wants madrid so badly. he's a businessman, right? so why doesn't he go for the big bucks in asia or somewhere else in emerging markets? europe's a saturated market, so is america. if you're in it for the cash, all eyes must be on india/china/korea and that lot with a slight chance of taking brazil into consideration. why madrid? it won't grow by a large margin, everyone knows that. miami won't grow the way the asian tourneys are either. indian wells won't, rome won't etc.

if tiriac wants to make money, go east. FAR east, that is.

[cmurray]

Originally Posted by scoobsuk

I don't think there's a chance in hell that the ITF or the Grand Slams themselves would do more than look down at this suggestion for the grubby, greedy piece of shit that it is.

The Grand Slams are in rude health - attendances at all continue to improve, coverage continues to improve, and all are laying out money to enhance their facilities to cater for the fans, for the players and for the elements.

They have awesome tradition behind them that makes them truly special events, and each has its own unique feel that makes it even better.

Tiriac wants it to be like F1 where all the cities fight to host the event year in, year out and those who don't offer enough don't get on the schedule - but fuck that.

I don't think so either, fortunately. As steeped in tradition as the GS tournaments are, the ITF have become a bit snooty. Thank God. No way are they going to risk the prestige of the 4 GS by adding another just because somebody waved a bunch of money at them.

[Merton]

That does not pass the laugh test, it is strange to see a proponent of competition being somebody who benefited from the fact that Madrid built the tennis infrustructure as part of their Olympic bid. The Madrid organizers have made the investment, Tiriac will gain on the upside. If things don't work out, well, he will just move to another city as he did when he moved from Stuttgart to Madrid.

[leng jai]

I'm all for the idea of 5 slams as long as the new slam is Kooyong.

[goldenlox]

The ITF is run by crooks. They pay a very small percentage of their profits in prizemoney.
It's about time some promoter decided to pay the players what the majors pay, and more than that.
If they produce the money, then the tournament should give slam points to the players.

And screw ITF tradition. It's all shamateurism. Pancho Gonzales was probably the best player in the world for years and years and wasn't allowed to play a major from about 1950-67.
Others like Emerson got under the table money to play in weakened fields.

[Merton]

I do not disagree in principle that the slam locations should not be in stone but reputation is important and I doubt that the sport can endure flight by night operators running tournaments when times are good and running away when times get bad. Tennis is not Formula 1, it is not a given that there will always be demand to host a slam if some organizer goes bust.

[goldenlox]

That's why the ATP and WTA has to make sure their mega-tournaments are funded for decades.
The money is out there. It just isn't going to the players.

I keep reading how golfers make so much more than ATP players.
That's because the ITF are crooks. They sell tv rights worldwide. Just in the US that is huge money.

Making the main draw of a major is a big deal, and the first round losers, which is half the field, get about $15,000.
Which is peanuts. It's offensive, with all the money out there.

[VolandriFan]

That would be interesting, breaking tradition. But it will never see light of day

[VolandriFan]

Originally Posted by CmonAussie

you`re talking too much sense jerenoimo
...
yes in an ideal world both Asia & Sth America would have slams & Africa would atleast have a couple of ATP events, but it`s unlikely to happen

###
atleast tennis is much more international than golf
~~in golf you`ve got 3/4 majors in America
~~the next 6 biggest events are also in America!
*therefore America has 9/10 biggest golf tourneys [the British Open being the exception]!

>>i like the fact that tennis authorities have atleast cooperated to the point of making the big events spread internationally: slams in 3-continents, masters series in 3, ATP tourneys in 6 continents

A South American slam would be ideal. And it would be played on yellow clay.

[GlennMirnyi]

Originally Posted by *Viva Chile*

Grand Slams = Tradition.

You can't buy tradition even with million of dollars or euros.

You just supported the theory that Olympics mean nothing.

[CyBorg]

I said this about six months ago on MTF. I said explicitly that this is exactly what Tiriac would be doing. He's basically envisioning another Miami-type event, but even bigger. Miami has a best out of 3 final now. Tiriac will want best out of five for sure.

He wants a big event. Probably two weeks. Lots of hoopla, fireworks, a flag with his face on it and so on.