Calendar Modification from 2015

[GameSetAndMath]

I guess this Wimblegaddon certainly justified the
addition of a week to the grass season.

While it may be difficult to have an ATP 1000 Grass Tournament,
I think they should at least raise the status of both Queens and Halle
to ATP 500 starting from 2015 when the extra week is added to
grass season.

Does any one know as to what would be the other new
grass tournament? Stuttgart announced the conversion already.

Also, the time may be right to move Hamburg to the
same week as Barcelona (so that Federer and interested
others can get clay court practice without getting their
H2H record vs Nadal weakened even further). This would also
be consistent with the way they already have two ATP 500s
in the same week. Moving Hamburg will also help as 3
Tournaments need to be moved before Wimbledon.

They can move the ATP 250 event currently
being held in the same week as Barcelona to the
following week (as the Serbian Tournament is no longer there).

Your thoughts on calendar changes and comments are welcome.

 

[Moxie]

Welcome, GSM! Very thoughtful thread. A lot of points to address, but I do think it would be right to raise Queens and Halle to 500s. (My understanding of why they can't be 1000s has to do with requirements of the facilities, which they don't meet.) Moving Hamburg to the same week as Barcelona is also an interesting idea. I didn't realize that specifically 3 tournaments need to move before Wimbledon...is that for space in the calendar?

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Welcome, GSM! Very thoughtful thread. A lot of points to address, but I do think it would be right to raise Queens and Halle to 500s. (My understanding of why they can't be 1000s has to do with requirements of the facilities, which they don't meet.) Moving Hamburg to the same week as Barcelona is also an interesting idea. I didn't realize that specifically 3 tournaments need to move before Wimbledon...is that for space in the calendar?

No, it is not necessary to move 3 tournaments to pre-Wimbledon
slots to create space (as there are only 2 tournaments in some
post Wimbledon pre usopen weeks). I was under wrong impression
when I first posted.

However, it seems that right place for Hamburg would be
before French Open, if possible and it is certainly possible
with the demise of Serbian open.

 

[Moxie]

I would seem to be better for Hamburg to do that, which was not only downgraded when Madrid took their slot, but really relegated to the doldrums. They deserve a higher profile than they currently have. And, as you said, it gives a good tournament to play for those who want some clay play, some points, and don't want to take on Nadal and the Spaniards. I like it!

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Just giving a bump to this thread. Sign the petition to move Hamburg to the
same week as Barcelona if you agree.

 

[Moxie]

Is there an actual petition? If so, I'm sure some would sign, with a link. I'd personally agree with putting it back in the clay season, for the reasons I stated above.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I was just joking. I am not much of an activist.

 

[Moxie]

I was just joking. I am not much of an activist.

:lolz: But, maybe I'll start one, though. Because I am. :angel: :snigger

 

[isabelle]

Bercy should be moved in Feb, just after Roterdam if ATP listened to what Forget asked for

 

[Front242]

Bercy should be moved in Feb, just after Roterdam if ATP listened to what Forget asked for

Yeah, really good change in the right direction that. It's always been a badly placed tournament up to now and from here on in hopefully the players will be fresher and more focused there.

 

[Kieran]

If they move Bercy to February then the WTF becomes even more isolated in the calendar...

 

[Front242]

If they move Bercy to February then the WTF becomes even more isolated in the calendar...

Told ya before man, it's called WTF for a reason That can stand for whatever you like

 

[Front242]

They have a warm up with similar surface in Basel, a small break and then into the WTF from next year. Seems just fine to me. Plus, we may not have top players all washed up for Bercy from now on.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Bercy should be moved in Feb, just after Roterdam if ATP listened to what Forget asked for

No, not a good idea. If adopted there will be too many (6 out of 9) ATP 1000s
crammed in the first 4.5 months of the calendar. That is why, ATP ditched the idea.

Bercy complained because they were afraid that no top player would want to play in
Bercy as they would want to save themselves for WTF. However, this has become
a non-issue as they have reintroduced a week gap between Bercy and WTF starting
from 2014.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

The ATP has finally released the calendar for 2015.

As they promised, they have extended the "grass tune-up season" to 3 weeks from 2 weeks.
In the first week, they have stuttgart and Netherlands tournament. In the second week
(newly upgraded to ATP 500) Halle and Queens. In the third week (the week just before
Wimby), they have a 48-draw new torunament in Nottingham. They have folded the
Eastbourne tournament (it still exists for women) that happens in the week before Wimby.
I was hoping to see Gstaad also in this week. But, it is listed as a clay tournament in
the post-Wimby pre-USO period. I don't know what is the deal with Gstaad. It is possible
that they are taking more time to convert. On the other hand, it is also possible that
they have given up.

Newport grass tournament remains after Wimby. They flatly declined to go before
Wimby right from the start.

At any rate, finally they are giving some respect to the grass. As they say there is
a 75% increase in points available in the grass tune-up season in 2015 as compared
to 2014 and before.

I am glad that the wish I expressed in my OP finally came true (viz., Halle and
Queen becoming 500).

Here is the full calendar.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/~/media/7F80051A067C482DB1FBF1021EDD3B59.ashx

p.s.1 Nadal fans should welcome this as it would give him some time to find his feet on the
grass. This will increase the chances that Rafa does not get thrown out in the first week
itself. As we all know, once he survives the first week, he is indeed dangerous on grass too.

p.s. 2 It is too bad that the change comes this late for the Grass Mastero to get much
milage out of it. But, I had never seen him make a big deal of it.

 

[Moxie]

Thanks for the run-down, GSM. I'll examine the new calendar later, but it is good news about the grass season. (And I hadn't thought about the benefit specific to Nadal, but you make a great point there.)

 

[GameSetAndMath]

My other wish has not happened. I was advocating moving Hamburg ATP 500 to
be hled in parallel with Barcelona ATP 500. They can move the Bucharest ATP 250
which is currently held in the same week to the following week, as there are
only two ATP 250s in that week instead of the three that used to be (recall
that the Serbian ATP 250 which was held in this week died).

Instead, the ATP folks are trying to find somebody to run a new ATP 250
tournament (in the European Region) in the week after Barcelona to replace
the vacant slot created by the death of Serbian 250. They have put
out the tender for that. Greedy folks.

Hamburg deserves a better treatment and the best place for it would be
before FO and not after FO. If you are going to keep clay tournaments after
FO, that is ok with me. But at least keep only meaningless ATP 250 clay ones
like Kitzibul etc.

It looks like ATP can easily move Hamburg to pre-FO slot. Perhaps, they
are deliberately not doing so (as Hamburg sued ATP when it got demoted
to 500 from 1000, but lost the court case).

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Looks like there will actually be a grass court season after all. No 1000, but still, one more week, I ll take it.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

dunno why I didn't poast in here before. :huh: but yes..the provisional atp2015 calendar is out..

...and the grass season is growing..not only but also. halle/queens are atp500 and the 3 week gap gives all the tennis funsters a further chance to frolic in the dizzy summer sun.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Nottingham won big. They are hosting a WTA tournament in the 1st week and the
ATP tournament in the 3rd week of the Grass season. Till last year, they had neither
of these sanctions.

However, they used to have a Men's challenger event in the week following FO
till last year. I am assuming that they are folding that event, but I don't know as a fact.

Historically, they used to have a regular grass tune-up event till 2008.