Sport - Tennis   

How to keep spectator interest going

By S.R. Suryanarayan

A sparsely filled Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium in Chennai. - Photo: Vino John

CHENNAI JAN. 7. Seven years in a tournament can be a long time.

The only ATP fixture in India, the Gold Flake Open, now re-christened Tata Open, has had a varied response from the start in 1997. Some of the big names in the game graced the city, returned with happy memories and in keeping with the tennis culture, the public patronage was on par. Now, has the interest dwindled or are we seeing a fresh evolution in the game that the public are not attracted enough?

These questions raid the mind as the current edition is going through a lukewarm phase in terms of spectator interest amidst overwhelming rumours in the air of the tournament leaving the city for good.

In many respects this sudden miss of the buzz around the stadium is something new. So is the sight of emptiness where a crowd of autograph hunters converge at the entry point of the centre court.

But all this does not worry the key man at IMG, Ravi Krishnan, MD (India and South Asia) who believes crowd thin and fill up in turns and this is a phenomenon the world over. He thinks, perhaps, the fans are waiting for the tournament to hot up.

Yes, he accepts `big names' can make things different. "Becker was a big draw. We should think of some such legendary names. May be we will", he hints.

Admitting that the future of the tournament in India, and especially in Chennai, remains a big question mark, he hastens to add, having conducted it in this city for seven years now, he would love to keep the association going.

"It is now almost sure that Tata is backing out. So we may have a new name from the next year. That is if we get it", he says tongue-in-cheek.

The problem, he says, is that the tournament is in a state of evolution. As it grows so does it expect support from all around, particularly the government and the corporates. "This is what we are lacking in Chennai", he says but for a specific reason. "Till now there wasn't that necessity. There were enough sponsors otherwise", he adds.

With around 67 ATP tournaments all around the world, Ravi Krishnan says at least 12 of them are underwritten by the local government or the corporates. "It is a question of reaping the benefits from a tournament like ATP say in the field of tourism or for fresh industrial investments. The idea is to brand the city. Consider for a moment that Chennai is grouped with some of the well known cities in the world. And all because of this tournament. The advantages of that need to reaped", he says.

If a country like China now seeks its third ATP tourney aside from Shanghai and Beijing then the importance of branding can be well appreciated. The underlying message then is if there is government support and corporate help, Chennai will remain on the ATP map.

"Negotiations are going on in this regard", says Ravi Krishnan and by this month-end if not at the end of this tourney, "something concrete will come through".

If that is the view of the IMG, then the fans would want the tournament here itself. "Don't allow them to take this away. Where else do you have the knowledgeable crowd as here", says Rajendran.

U.S.-based Dr. Manu, who has the experience of soaking in the atmosphere at the U.S Open, believes "Chennai cannot afford to lose this important fixture. What could be done is provide more diversions for the youth to get attracted. The younger crowd can raise the decibel level and make things lively", he adds.

A tennis official views the current situation as "too much good tennis on show that perhaps the fans are yearning for legends. Get even Jimmy Connors or Bjorn Born or McEnroe here and you will see the difference".

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