Revolutionary Changes: Italian Open set to be played at a larger scale

Revolutionary Changes: Italian Open set to be played at a larger scale

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The recent developments in the world of Tennis will benefit Italian tennis majorly. Amidst the pandemic, the tournament calendar has been disturbed. Thus a major change is that unlike a typical calendar, this year the tour will end will the clay season.

An ATP 1500 event

The organisers have decided to make the draw of the Roma Masters 1000, with 96 players and extend the usual length of the tournament . The tournament is now set to be played between Septemeber 20th and September 27th with an additional 2 days . In a recent interview with SportsFace, Italian Tennis Federation Chief Angelo Binaghi announced, that the ATP is encouraging them to expand the tournament and use the resources.

“They asked us to stretch, go to 96 players, and they would pay us the difference in prize money.“

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The clay court in Rome used for the Roma Masters
The clay court in Rome used for the Roma Masters

The event falls perfectly post the US Open this year, so the players can easily travel to Italy for their preparation before the French Open. The chairman added,

” Now that we have two weeks we hope to kill two birds with one stone: we hope that those who reach the final round of the US Open can participate and we also hope to be able to give the possibility to those like Nadal, who usually make it to the bottom of the tournament, to have an adequate number of rest days before attending Paris“

Also Read: Even if COVID-19 cases surge, no set guidelines for US Open

A MAJOR OBSTACLE IS THE QUARANTINE PERIOD

This season the decisions involving travel and quarantine are of utmost importance. Hence the government of Italy has to agree to let the players participate in the ATP event without quarantine. Since they will be travelling from New York, which has a huge number of cases the organizers are facing a major difficulty in terms of the regulations put forth by the government.

“The ATP is urging us, and today I wrote to the minister, about the safe conduct for players who arrive in New York who can not quarantine because otherwise, they cannot play”

The hosting of the Roma Masters this year has been upscaled after the cancellation of Madrid Open and it is understandable that the Italian Tennis Federation is trying to make the best of the situation at hand.

Also Read: ”It was unimaginable,” Toni Nadal speaks on Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour and Rafa’s future plans