Brisbane International: Crowds remain strong for tournament
THE future format for international tennis in Brisbane may be uncertain, but crowds were still strong for the Brisbane International this summer.
THE future format for international tennis in Brisbane may be uncertain, but crowds were still strong for the Brisbane International this summer.
The success of Australians Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur drove Brisbane International crowds to a respectable total of about 90,000 in the face of withdrawals by drawcards Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
The Sunday Mail reported that Tennis Australia is willing to drastically change its summer circuit if the ATP chooses to partner with it for a 24-nation World Teams Cup for men in the first week of January, possibly starting in 2020.
A record Saturday men’s semi-finals crowd ensured the total for the 2018 Brisbane International would be about 90,000 – down from 96,107 for the 2017 edition when Nadal played for the first time at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
The Courier-Mail reported on November 3 that TA had been involved in meetings with the ATP and other tennis stakeholders about Australia hosting the WTC, with Brisbane’s QTC and Sydney’s Olympic Park among host venues under consideration.
The ability of the Brisbane International, in its 10th year, and Perth’s Hopman Cup to attract its customary men’s field in the first week of January is endangered by the plans to parachute the WTC into a crowded schedule.
TA says it would not change its circuit unless such changes improved it, but Brisbane fans who have championed the Brisbane International would feel its loss.
“It (the WTC) would be a multi-city event. It would replace the Brisbane International as it is today and the Hopman Cup would either stay or move into another timeslot,’’ TA CEO Craig Tiley told News Corp Australia.
The ATP board may not formally meet on the issue until a meeting in March.
TA has a pressing need to create better tennis content for Sydney, which is the logical place for the final.
Other nations were also interested in hosting a WTC.
After seven days of the eight-day Brisbane International, 83,996 spectators had attended, with a near-capacity crowd of 5500 spectators for the men’s finals session last night.
The four tournaments headlined by Roger Federer (2014-16) and Nadal (2017) all drew more than 90,000, with Federer’s first visit in 2014 being the record year with crowds of 105,730.
Smaller tournaments such as Brisbane cannot base promotional plans totally around 36-year-old Federer, and Nadal (31) taking up entries for events leading into Grand Slam events as they try to tailor to their preparations around injuries.
De Minaur will rise from No.208 to No.167 in today’s rankings list on the basis of his first ATP semi-final, in which he was two points from victory against American Ryan Harrison at Pat Rafter Arena.
The slightly-built 18-year-old is a clean slate with the majority of the Australian sporting public, and will become very popular very quickly with his game style and humble demeanour.
“We saw again how much the fans in Brisbane love to come and support the Australian players,’’ Brisbane tournament director Cameron Pearson said.
The 30-year-olds among the “Big Four’’ of men’s tennis, Novak Djokovic (elbow) and Andy Murray (hip), did not play the ATP tournaments they entered in the first week of 2018, as was the case with Nadal (knee).
Originally published as Brisbane International: Crowds remain strong for tournament
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