Future of ATP Halle Event Secured Says Tournament Director
Tennis - The future of the ATP event in Halle remains secured although there may be a new sponsor for the tournament, according to Tournament Director Ralf Weber. The event has been sponsored by the Gerry Weber group since its inception but the organization recently filed for bankruptcy which meant the future of the event was uncertain. According to RP Online, Weber says, "The future of the tournament is secured in my view. There are many co-sponsors, so I'm not worried we'll get into trouble, quite the opposite."
The tournament, which is held on grass, takes place from 17th June to 23rd June this year and a large number of tickets have already been sold this year. "We are seeing more demand than ever, and that is also a building block of total funding."
Weber continues that it is likely that the tournament could find a new sponsor. "It's looking for new investors for the company, but it's not clear if they're interested in continuing to give the tournament their name, and from 2020 onward title sponsorship could be reassigned."
Nine-time champion Roger Federer returns to the event this year and will be joined by Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori in the field. Croatian Borna Coric won the event last year beating Federer in the final 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 6–2. The doubles event was won by Łukasz Kubot/ Marcelo Melo who beat the German brothers Alexander Zverev/ Mischa Zverev, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 in the final.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2KxHi39
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