MUNICH, January 20, 2015 The organisers and sponsors of the BMW Open met the media inside the BMW-World in Munich to give an outlook on the 100th edition of the International Tennis Championships of Bavaria taking place from April 25 to May 3 at the MTTC Iphitos.
“We are very proud of the tournament’s 100th anniversary, which will be celebrated this year for sure. We will have different highlights during the entire week for all spectators coming to the venue,” Fabian Tross, director of the club’s limited company, told.
A lot of current tennis stars like Marin Cilic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Philipp Kohlschreiber as well as legends like Boris Becker, Pat Rafter and Goran Ivanisevic sent a video message by holding a golden vintage racket in their hands saying “Happy Birthday-Mia san Tennis! (We are Tennis)!”
Tommy Haas, who just arrived from Los Angeles, attended the evening in Munich and was also looking forward to the tournament. “My shoulder feels better. As far as I feel fit enough, I will be back on court. Maybe the tournament in Indian Wells will be a bit too early for my comeback but I hope to return in April at the latest,” the German, who has been sidelined from the tennis circuit since Roland Garros in May 2014 due to a shoulder injury, told.
“I have been playing in Munich ten times. The first time was in 1998. I do not even know, what my result was back then. My best memory came in 2013, when I was able to win the tournament. 13 is my lucky number,” Haas laughed. “It is really great to play in Munich. My family lives here and it’s fantastic to see them sitting in the box while I’m playing on court. It always creates a special atmosphere for me,” the 36-year-old explained.
“My family also helped me during the time I had to spend for my recovery, which can be very hard. Nonetheless, I am not done with the tennis yet. I still feel competitive and I want to decide by myself when I am going to retire. Of course it is possible that this will be my last year in Munich as an active player. I already have some plans and ideas for my life after my career but first of all I want to be back on court,” the former world number two seemed to be optimistic to manage another comeback.
Tommy Haas wants to be back on the Tour as soon as possible
Haas also revealed the new car for the champion in 2015, who will be pleased getting a BMW i8 plus prize money of course. The tournament’s title sponsors BMW and FWU AG will also celebrate an anniversary with 25 respectively 10 years of supporting the event. The latter is also responsible that the first names for the player’s field in 2015 could have been announced. Besides the participation of the German top-players Philipp Kohlschreiber and Tommy Haas, the tournament closed a two-years-contract with world number 16 and ATP’s most improved player in 2014, Roberto Bautista-Agut.
The new poster of the tournament was also shown
The winner of the BMW Open 2015 will receive a BMW i8
Tommy Haas also had a look inside the car
“We carry on negotiations with Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini. It’s very likely that both are coming again to Munich this year, which would be great for us, as those are players showing emotions on court and having their own special group of fans,” tournament director Patrick Kühnen added.
“Our ticket prices of this year’s edition will not increase. As a consequence of that we have already sold more than 2.550 tickets, which is more than last year at the same time. The sport should be in focus. At no other tournament in Germany, spectators have the chance to get so close to the tennis stars. Some of the practice courts are right in the middle of the venue. This creates a unique atmosphere,” tournament organiser Michael Mronz said and it seems that the BMW Open are ready in order to create an exciting week of tennis on the ATP World Tour.
Michael Mronz (left) and Patrick Kühnen (second from right) spoke about the 2015 edition
