PARIS – The controversy in tennis over Italy’s desire to host a fifth Grand Slam tournament is growing in intensity: now Madrid is asking to host a tournament on the same level as Roland Garros, albeit with certain nuances. Firstly, because it plans to return to the controversial blue clay, and secondly, because a Grand Slam might not be enough.
‘Why limit ourselves to a Grand Slam? I want a Super Slam,’ said Gerard Tsobanian, president and CEO of the Madrid Masters 1000, during an interview with CLAY and RG Media in Paris.
In recent months, the Italian Tennis Federation (FIT) has attempted to buy the two weeks of the annual tennis calendar in which Madrid is scheduled. If successful, it could combine them with the two weeks of the Italian Open in Rome and own a full month, more than enough to organise a super tournament.
But that will not happen, says Tsobanian, 60, who has been at the helm of the Spanish tournament since its first edition in 2002. The Frenchman of Armenian origin jokes: ‘We would have to talk to the God of tennis, but he hasn’t even left us his phone number.’
Interview with Gerard Tsobanian
– Rome wants a Grand Slam, something Ion Tiriac proposed many years ago for Madrid. What do you think?
– I remember, of course. And I also want a Grand Slam, of course. I can organise a Grand Slam in Madrid, so why don’t I have the right to organise a Grand Slam in Madrid?
– What do you mean?
– First, having a Grand Slam shouldn’t depend on the players you have in the top 100 or top 10 or top 50, it shouldn’t depend on the players you have, because if Rome has waited until now to say it, it’s because they have so many players. Imagine how many Grand Slams Spain should have if we look at the players they’ve had in the world number one spot. So, we need to look into it. But I’m telling you, there’s no chance of a Grand Slam now, because it’s God who decides. I don’t have his number, and neither does the president of the Italian Tennis Federation.
– That year when Tiriac imposed blue clay in Madrid, he also said he wanted to play with phosphorescent balls in the future. And he added: ‘I don’t want a Grand Slam, I want to do something bigger than a Grand Slam.’
– Exactly, why limit yourself to a Grand Slam?
– And what would be bigger than a Grand Slam?
– A Super Slam.
– What would that be?
– I don’t know, let’s discuss it and invent it. We’ve invented a lot of things in tennis… If there’s an idea, why not listen to it?
– Play with more than 128 players, offer double the prize money?
– I don’t think so. It’s more than just more prize money, more points, or fewer players and more points, or more prize money, fewer players. I don’t think the 128-player draw is something that will last forever, I don’t think it’s the best solution. Fans want to see the rivalries between the best players as quickly as possible. They don’t want matches where there is a huge imbalance between one player and another. We want to get to the weekend of a Grand Slam quickly because that’s when the interesting matches start. I mean, things have sped up, people have less… patience or less time. There’s a lot more variety and things to do. While they’re doing one thing, people are reading messages or listening to podcasts or talking to I don’t know who. So there’s a lot of variety and activities going on at once.
– Do you notice that in everyday life and as someone with responsibilities in tennis?
Yes, I think you have to create a slightly shorter dynamic, like in golf. I think playing 18 holes in a golf match is a long time and young people don’t have the patience to play 18 holes nowadays. They like shorter, more intense sports. The same goes for tennis, you have to try not to make the matches too long, you have to get to the moment of drama or the end more quickly. That’s why they’re trying out cutting the matches to four games in Next Gen.
– Would you like to play in Madrid with the Next Gen format?
– Yes, I think it’s something worth trying, but you have to ask for permission.
– Just like you had to ask permission to change the colour of the clay in Madrid. Is that a done deal or will you ever do it again?
– It’s not a dead idea, it’s not dead.
– What do you mean?
– It means it could be revived.
– It’s not a zombie…
– No, it could be revived, it could be revived.
– And the colour would be blue? Or did you decide over time that there’s a better colour than blue for that?
– I liked the blue.
– But it was done badly that time.
– Yes, blue was very good, but there was bad luck, bad practice, bad preparation. Many factors, the drainage wasn’t right, etc., etc. Next time, we have to prepare it properly and implement it in a more structured way, step by step.
– IMG, the company that owns Madrid, is selling its tennis assets. Is Italy going to buy Madrid?
– No, they’re not going to buy it.
– No?
– No, they’re no longer candidates.
– And when will that sale be finalised?
– Now, in the summer (northern hemisphere).
– And if it’s sold, will the Madrid tournament stay in Madrid or move to another city?
– No. The tournament has already been sold before, and where are we now? In Madrid.
– So it won’t be like what happened in 2002 when Tiriac moved the tournament from Stuttgart to Madrid?
– No.
– You seem a bit annoyed by the Italian Tennis Federation’s idea of buying the Madrid weeks and creating a Grand Slam. Did you feel it was a provocation?
– No, not a provocation, but I had doubts about the intentions behind the purchase.
– In what sense?
– In the sense that I wondered why a federation would want to buy a tournament that is outside its country. It’s not an investment by a fund that wants to make money and grow an event. It’s a federation from another country
that wants to buy a tournament that is in another country, not in its own country.
– Did it make sense to combine the four weeks and create one big tournament?
– But how are they going to combine the two weeks? Make a month-long tournament? Who decides that? The first question is, who do you ask for permission to create a fifth Grand Slam? Who do you talk to? That’s why I’m telling you, since no one has said whether I should talk to me, my sister, my mother or God, I guess you have to talk to God, the God of tennis, because the other God has much more important things to do than decide whether there should be another Grand Slam or not. And we don’t know who the God of tennis is. No, he hasn’t even left a phone number. If the God of tennis finally gave us his phone number, an email address or we could find him…
If you enjoyed this interview with Gerard Tsobanian, don’t miss this link to our website, where you can find many other interviews with the biggest names in tennis.
