We had money to bring Roger Federer in Barcelona, but it's not easy - Costa
The Barcelona Open is about to start. From 22 to 28 April Rafael Nadal will seek his 12th title. In December last year, Roger Federer had reportedly said, during a training session, that he wanted to compete in the Spanish event, which had surprised the Tournament Director Albert Costa and the organizers. In an exclusive interview with Tennis World USA, Costa said: "I spoke with his agent, he was thinking about it but he decided to play in Madrid and French Open. In the last two years, he did not play on clay. It would have been a nice thing for us, we had enough money to pay him but it's not easy. Anyways we have a good draw, four top ten players, a lot of younger and Spanish players."
Nadal did not give guarantees on his appearance in Madrid. Why does he prioritize Barcelona? "Here he won 11 times, he feels very comfortable and he thinks this tournament is very important. But I do not think he skips Madrid. I think he will play both events", said Costa.
The management company Kosmos shared its desire to buy the Barcelona Open rights, after the Davis Cup last year. "The tournament owner is the club, the Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona. They decided to launch a contest and several companies proposed. Let's see what happens, it's a decision of the Club Board, I do not work for the club."
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kei Nishikori, Dominic Thiem, Fabio Fognini are just some of the high-level players who will compete in Barcelona.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2XyZOdn
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