Possibly featuring Rafael Nadal, Mallorca bids to host ATP event in 2020
A new grasscourt tournament will be introduced on the ATP Calendar from 2020 to 2023 the week just prior to Wimbledon, replacing Antalya, Turkey. Mallorca (Spain), Monza (Italy) and Sweden are on the list for one place. Edwin Weindorfer, the Stuttgart Mercedes Cup Tournament Director, is one of the WTA Mallorca Open organizers and he is backing the Spanish event to host a men's tennis tournament. "We have made an application. There have been three applications. One is from Mallorca, which is a strong one. Monza made a good application too, while the Swedish one, I do not know, I have heard it's not that strong in my mind. The decision will be made by the ATP Board in Wimbledon. We have already six grass courts there and we may make another two, an existing facility, and we have been hosting a women's event for four years. This year we have Angelique Kerber and maybe Maria Sharapova, we are negotiating with her. We may move the WTA event to another European city if we will host the ATP. We are working on that. We also have strong support from the Government", said Weindorfer.
Asked if the Mallorcan Rafael Nadal would play without taking an appearance fee in his birthplace, Weindorfer replied: "I do not think so. We would have to find a business agreement so that he plays in Mallorca. It's something we would discuss with him, at the end of his career playing in his birthplace would make a sense and so he may have a different view on playing the week prior to Wimbledon. But finals would be played on Saturday, he would get to Wimbledon in the evening through a private air jet and he would practice there on Sunday and Monday and then compete on Tuesday. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic do not play that week, they'd rather prepare for Wimbledon but I think at the end of his career Rafa may change his mind and say, I play this week. But I do not expect him to play for free."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2JnrldV
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