ATP Tour World Championship

November 29, 1998

Mark Miles

Ion Tiriac

MODERATOR: On behalf of the EXPO 2000, I would like to welcome you again to our summary of this one more week of tennis. May I introduce to you Mr. Tiriac, and Dr. Volk, Chief Executive of EXPO 2000. Dr. Volk, may I ask you for your statement now, please.

DR. VOLK: Ladies and Gentlemen, it is still one hour to I think a very dramatic and good final, but I'm very proud to announce the first world champion today: I think that's the people and the audience of Hannover. They are absolutely fair, they understand quite a lot of sport, and they are very enthusiastic. With other words, they are a world-class host to a world-class event. This makes me very convinced to say that Hannover and Germany will be a good host to the first World Exposition in Germany in the year 2000. Even a number of injuries did not withhold the fantastic audience here to be enthusiastic and thrilled. They showed good sportsmanship and supported not only the qualified players, but also the substitutes. A very impressive example, Ladies and Gentlemen, we all experienced I think yesterday afternoon when after a very dramatic and high-level semifinal, Pete Sampras was honored and celebrated for his very impressive record. For EXPO 2000, as the host of the tournament, it has been proven that we made a very good decision to bring the ATP Tour World Championship to Hannover. It is a global event, and besides the sport, it is for us a very good investment in marketing and in communication. I'm really glad to say that in 1996, and 1997, and in 1998 we improved the level of EXPO 2000, not only in Germany, but in many countries in the world, especially in our primary markets in Europe and in the US. We have proven, I think, that we are able to organize sufficiently a world-class event with our partners, therefore a big thank you goes to ATP, Mark, and especially to my friend and very, very professional partner, Ion Tiriac. World EXPO and a World Championship, indeed a very fine combination that makes a lot of sense. The marketing and communication value of this event exceeds our investment of EXPO by far. This event has proven that in the time of Internet, there is and remains a big need for live events, and this way I'm absolutely sure that the first World Exposition in Germany will be a live event that no visitor will never, ever forget. Ladies and Gentlemen, last but not least, I would like to thank very much our sponsors and partners. Their contribution to the World Championship 1998 is substantial. This thank you includes the staff of more than 2,000 people making it what it is and what it will be in 1999 here in Hannover, a world-class event on a global level. I wish you all, Ladies and Gentlemen, a dramatic final with excellent sport in a great atmosphere. Thank you, very much.

ION TIRIAC: For two years now, we have a lot of discussion and we have a lot of comments in one way or another. What I think that we achieved in three years is the fact that we discussing about this event like tennis, ATP World Championship. The best tennis player in the world ever, probably is going to go on the records, didn't made it last night, and I don't think that anybody in that hall or on the screen of the television have any doubts in their mind that he try everything that is humanly possible to win this event. We have two finalists that didn't earn their places at the lottery, but in the tennis tournament, and they are the two best tennis players this week. I think for what it's worth, that is going to be a great final, probably for the spectator even more enjoyable than serve and volley, Rusedski against Ivanisevic. Going back a little bit to history, this event was built, was inherited from the name of Masters to the ATP World Championships, and probably by the year 2000 might have even another name if we are going to do what we have to do and what we already did. To avoid all the speculation, and particularly for my German friends here, I would like to say that this is a global event. I thought global, and I think global from the first day I made it, or at least I participate to make it what it is, and I will be unfair not to thank everybody that until four o'clock in the morning stay here for weeks to make from this event what it is today. I am very proud from this quality that I have. Once again, I have a partner here at the table that represents the German state, the German government. The EXPO is a German government organization. They are responsible for this tournament and responsible for the running of the tournament, and I do not have, and I didn't have any friction with them, and that's the reason we are here. Thank you.

MARK MILES: I'll make a brief statement, happily. Just a word of history. I think it was late 1994 or early 1995 when Ion Tiriac came to us and said, "I have an idea." It was clear that we had made the decision - after six wonderful years in Frankfurt - it was time to find a new location. He surprised us. He said, "Hannover, Germany. We can be partners, we should pursue a partnership with EXPO 2000." In the first five minutes or so, I guess it's fair to say that my immediate reaction - which was uninformed - was not that I was knocked over dead with the brilliance of the idea. But I've come to know over time that behind that moustache and those glasses is a guy who is really visionary, and who is undoubtedly the best promoter of tennis events in the world. For that reason, I took more than five minutes, and we listened, and it made more and more sense the longer we talked. The vision was clear that EXPO 2000 was going to be an extraordinary international event, and it had a number of years to prepare itself. In fact, for those of us who have now visited for the third year, the preparations here are really phenomenal, give us all reason to know we'll be back a fifth time to visit the EXPO itself, but that their mission was going to dovetail perfectly with ours, just as we want every year to expand the stature and the recognition of this event globally, so do they. They want to prepare the world for their coup de grace in the year 2000. We believe we had essentially a compatible mission, and we believed that Ion Tiriac was the promoter with whom we could have complete confidence. I think it's worked. We couldn't be more pleased with the partnership with EXPO 2000 and Dr. Volk's organization, and with Ion Tiriac's organization. I don't think you could have been in the hall here for the last week without knowing that it's been a success. While everything that's been written in Germany has certainly not been quite what we might have liked, the world outside has in particular focused on this event, especially as you said in your primary market, in a very positive way. So we're delighted and looking forward to a great final.

MARK MILES: No. No, I'm not. I think that's enough. If you were here all week, you would have noticed all those things which by now should be quite clear. I think we have a very clear strategy for the growth of the game, in my mind the only strategy for the growth of the game. I think we have all the unity and cohesiveness and expertise to pull it off.

ION TIRIAC: Maybe I comment just a little bit on the question. I think that that's stupid to speculate anymore. The best thing ever would be that somebody would come with other ideas for another tour and competition. The competition can make you only better. I believe that we have the Tour that is now, or the Tour that is going to be in 2000, a background. We are not born yesterday, and we didn't do it overnight. We did it over 20 years, 30 years, so on. A friend of mine, which have left, say about Olympics. I can tell you about Olympics, but you don't have the time. 30 years ago, they didn't even say, Who won the Grand Slams. They say, Who won Roland Garros? After Roland Garros, say, You won Roland Garros or Rome? Well, Rome went down; Roland Garros went up. So if somebody comes with a competitive whatever it is, he's very welcome. Whenever he comes into the Tour, he is very welcome as well. But show me your background and what you want to do. If it's evolution, it's good. Revolution, I leave a lot of revolution physically from my life. I don't think benefit anybody out of it.

ION TIRIAC: Excuse me, can you stand up when you talk to me?

ION TIRIAC: I am much higher than you are; I was all my life.

ION TIRIAC: Yeah, you are not. For that reason -- excuse me, what's to laugh? Is a cry. Is a newspaper; is going to write tomorrow about me. I believe that the best asset for this tournament would be to move every single year. I may lose the battle and they are going to stay two years, but I think it is a mistake. I believe if you have two or three years in advance time to prepare this event, every part of the world, not only is going to be interested, though in the screen is going to be the event, when Schumacher and Hakkinnen are starting, you know they're starting Formula 1, not every time you know exactly if it's Sasuka or Mamuka. What I'm telling in saying yes, Madison Square Garden, beautiful, I would like to do it again. I tell you what, I talk to Mr. Eccelstone couple of days ago only, and if he's going to take it and he's going to beat for 2001 because the hall is going to be ready in London, I do it for him. We are at a level that we arrive with this event that has to be a jewel event at the end of the year. Doesn't matter how you call it. For this reason, I believe that has to move. New York, it's New York. It's Johannesburg, it's Johannesburg. It's Sydney or Tokyo, that would have to be the event of the year, at the end of the year.

MARK MILES: There are some complications in changing the surface because, as you know, we play basically in Europe at the end of the year, and you can't change that every year, indoors or certain surfaces. We also currently have a week of rest for the single's guys during the world doubles in between. So perhaps we can change the surface, but we want to make sure the guys are ready to play when they arrive. We want to try. We think it's a good idea in principle if we can overcome that question of making sure we have the best possible tennis. Our idea is not necessarily to say one year must be grass, one clay, one hard court, one indoor; it's more to move the event from region to region, from capital to capital, and play in the natural surface. In South America, it would undoubtedly be on clay, might be outdoors. If it's in Europe in November, undoubtedly it's going to be indoors.

ION TIRIAC: Yesterday.

ION TIRIAC: No, we making it yesterday.

MARK MILES: Early in the beginning of the year, 1999.

MARK MILES: You mean at this moment?

MARK MILES: Well, I would, perhaps. I might, but we haven't started that process, so I can't.

MARK MILES: The question is about coaching. I think we put out some information in our regular publications. I'm happy to bring you up-to-date. We tried coaching in a particular way over this year in a few tournaments. We evaluated the results of that in our meetings at Bercy in Paris a few weeks ago. We came to the conclusion that at this point we don't intend to pursue it further, primarily because we didn't really see it having a potential impact on the game, on the public's appreciation for the game, that was sufficient to justify the basic change of the competition going from individual to team in the normal tournaments. I don't know if that will ever be revisited. It's possible it could. But for now that is not an ongoing discussion for us. I don't anticipate more demonstrations next year.

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