We do not want to depend on Roger Federer and Nadal, says Rotterdam Open
In an interview to ND, the Rotterdam Open Tournament Director Richard Krajicek commented on how their mindset is when looking to bring top players in the field. 2016 was a crucial year for the organizers as Roger Federer withdrew and there were no top ten players left. "From that moment we changed our strategy", said Krajicek. "We did not want to remain without top ten players. We do not want to depend on a crack like Federer or Nadal. Now we bring several world class players and you already saw this year that this strategy pays off. We are happy to have handled it this way. We approach players early and we constantly try to make the tournament as interesting as possible for these guys. We pay them well and we clearly have some entertainment at Ahoy. There is a lot of atmospheres, the crowd is excited and guys feel they are in the centre of attention. Also, they have a lot of room to practice, while in other tournaments you have to go training on other courts. Players like it a lot, they have the facilities near to them."
Krajicek also wants to make players enjoy a good experience when they come to Rotterdam: "Some tennis players make some requests, and we are happy to answer. We know that Federer feels comfortable in a very big hotel. So we make him stay there in order to make him pleased, perform well and possibly come back to Rotterdam. The Swede Thomas Johansson wanted to come back to his country after losing early in our event, but he suffered an eye injury and so he could not travel by aeroplane, and we brought him to Sweden by car. We could also say: get a car and good travel. But if you want to have a good relationship with players, you have to satisfy them. We always get congratulated for our food, and this year it went even better. We signed stars chef who really makes some great food to players."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2DYNjzG
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