ATP Tour Sued by Hamburg Masters, Accused of Running Cartel
By Ravi Ubha
March 29 (Bloomberg) -- The ATP Tour, the governing body of men's professional tennis, was sued by organizers of the Hamburg Masters tournament to block a plan to downgrade their event's status.
The not-for-profit German Tennis Federation and Rothembaum Sports GmbH filed the lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. They asked a judge to stop the tour from stripping Hamburg of its Masters status, which would make it harder for the tournament to attract top players. Spain's Tommy Robredo, the world No. 6, won the event last year.
The ATP's so-called Brave New World plan, to be implemented in 2009, is ``anticompetitive,'' violates U.S. antitrust laws and resembles an ``illegal cartel,'' the Hamburg organizers said in the complaint. An event in Monte Carlo also will probably lose its Masters status, they said.
``The ATP has artificially taken control of the supply of men's professional tennis players and of men's professional tennis tournaments,'' the plaintiffs said. ``It has done so to establish a favored class of tournaments, in which the ATP has a significant proprietary interest, while relegating all of the ATP's other member tournaments to a disfavored status.''
ATP President Etienne de Villiers is restructuring the men's calendar to reduce injuries and ensure top players take part in the most-prestigious events. The Masters series is a level below the Grand Slams such as Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
ATP Response
The ATP, based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, said it reviewed the complaint.
``The ATP is confident in its position and will continue to take steps to improve and grow its men's professional tennis circuit for the benefit of fans,'' Nicola Arzani, vice president of media and marketing, said in an e-mailed statement.
In the past year, the ATP introduced round-robin tournaments, play on Sundays at some events and instant replay to settle disputed line calls. Round-robin play was dropped this month.
Last year, a group of doubles players sought a court order to stop the ATP from implementing scoring changes aimed at shortening matches. The players said the move would eventually get rid of doubles specialists. The dispute was settled out of court.
According to today's suit, the 2009 calendar would create three tiers of ATP tournaments: The Masters Cup and Masters Series 1000, Masters Series 500 and the ATP 250. There would be eight Masters Series tournaments instead of the current nine. Shanghai was confirmed as one this week.
Minor League
Apart from the Masters Cup and Masters Series 1000, the other events, including the one in Hamburg, will be relegated as a ``minor league'' unable to attract elite players. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the world's top two, pulled out of last year's tournament because they played a five-hour final the week before at the Italian Open in Rome.
This year marks the 101st edition of the Hamburg tournament. It's scheduled for May 14-20, a week before the French Open in Paris. The Monte Carlo tournament, also a clay- court tune-up for the French Open, was first held in 1897.
According to media reports, about 60 players, including Federer and Andy Roddick, signed a petition last week against changes to reduce European spring Masters events from three -- Rome is the other -- to two.
Madrid, announced by the women's WTA Tour this week as a combined event with the men, and Rome will probably fill those slots, Canada's Globe & Mail newspaper reported.
The case is Deutscher Tennis Bund v. ATP Tour, Inc., et al, 7CV178, U.S. District Court, Delaware (Wilmington).
To contact the reporter on this story: Ravi Ubha in London at rubha@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: March 29, 2007 16:30 EDT
Re: ATP Tour Sued by Hamburg Masters, Accused of Running Cartel
They cannot accuse the ATP of forming a cartel since the ATP is a natural monopoly. Their point is that the ATP of favouring a certain coalition of tournaments against others. This might be funny if it ever reaches the courts, but they will compromise before that happens.
__________________
"We might have done nothing. That would have been utter ruin. Instead we met the situation with proposals to private business and to Congress of the most gigantic program of economic defense and counterattack ever evolved in the history of the Republic."
Herbert Hoover, in his speech accepting the Republican nomination in 1932.
Re: ATP Tour Sued by Hamburg Masters, Accused of Running Cartel
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merton
They cannot accuse the ATP of forming a cartel since the ATP is a natural monopoly. Their point is that the ATP of favouring a certain coalition of tournaments against others. This might be funny if it ever reaches the courts, but they will compromise before that happens.
Agreed.
This is what the Americans might call an "aggressive negotiation tactic"
Re: ATP Tour Sued by Hamburg Masters, Accused of Running Cartel
Quote:
`The ATP has artificially taken control of the supply of men's professional tennis players and of men's professional tennis tournaments
That's like saying tomato farmers have artificially taken control of the supply of tomatoes. This gets to be more and more like a circus every day .
__________________ It's just you don't want to have a lot of expectations, because when you start to have a lot of expectations you just end up losing in the third round to God knows who. ~Marat Safin, summarizing his career
No comment: Mawie: he kinda reminds me of me, he feels obligated to have every sentence be a joke Maggie Tulliver: and he takes his clothes off when he sees a camera Maggie Tulliver: it's a little pathetic Maggie Tulliver: it's like his first reaction
ATP Tour Sued by Hamburg Masters, Accused of Running Cartel
ATP Tour Sued by Hamburg Masters, Accused of Running Cartel
Vamos, Gaston! 
but the atp has always been a cartel... a monopoly for men's tennis... and hamburg has been part of it.
.
to (in no particular order): BryOns
| Mandy | MarTy | Isner | Dent | Querrey | Baghdatis | Delic | Oli | N&o | Gasquet | Ferrero | Levine | Malisse | LUX | Melzer | Moya | Nishikori | Haas | Grosjean | Ancic | Mathieu | Calleri | Bolelli | Sela | Blake | more...
