MONTE CARLO, March 4, 2015
The 2014 ATP Challenger of the Year Awards were announced in Monte Carlo last week, with top honors being shared by two tournaments: the Sparkasssen Open in Braunschweig, Germany, as well as the AON Open Challenger, Memorial Giorgio Messina, in Genova, Italy.
The awards were announced by Alison Lee, Chair of the ATP Challenger Tour Management Committee. Representatives of both winning tournaments have been invited to attend the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 in London receiving their trophy from ATP Executive Chairman & President, Chris Kermode, in November.
“Both Genova and Braunschweig provide excellent facilities and hospitality for players, as well as offering a mix of tennis, live bands and entertainment in the evening, making these must-see events on the sporting and social calendars in their respective regions. We congratulate them on their fantastic events, and they are truly deserving of these awards,” Lee said.
Braunschweig, a € 106.500 event, has been held on the ATP Challenger Tour since 1994. It received the inaugural Challenger of the Year award in 2005. Since then, the tournament has continued its excellence with more than 22.500 spectators attending the tournament in 2014 and is the only event receiving the award for a second time.
ATP Challenger Braunschweig
“Winning the 2014 ATP Challenger Award is a great pleasure for our team, and a confirmation of all our efforts last year,” said Volker Jäcke, Tournament Manager of the Sparkasssen Open in Braunschweig. “This will be a great motivation and a great challenge for the whole team to improve the cooperation with the ATP and to work hard for the ‘stars of tomorrow’,” added Harald Tenzer, CEO of Brunswiek Marketing GmbH as well as the tournament’s promoter.
The 22nd edition of the Sparkassen Open will take place from July 4 to July 15 2015. “We will work hard and extend our excellent co-operation with the ATP in order to remain our high standards for players, spectators and sponsors,” Jäcke told. Players such as Gustavo Kuerten, Carlos Moya, Juan-Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer or Stan Wawrinka played in Braunschweig in the past. In 2014, only 17-year-old Alexander Zverev celebrated his maiden title on the ATP Challenger Tour winning the final against Paul-Henri Mathieu and broke into the top 100 for the first time.
Alex Zverev also reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 in Hamburg in 2014
Genova, a € 85.000 event, was first held on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2003 and has consistently improved with each passing year.
“This is a great reward in recognition of all our efforts,” said Giorgio Tarantola, Tournament Director of the AON Open Challenger, Memorial Giorgio Messina. “We began this adventure in 2003. In the last five years we’ve built an enthusiastic and professional team eager to learn and improve in accordance with ATP suggestions and procedures. With the support of international sponsors, first of all AON and the Messina Family, we’ve tried to achieve greater goals. This award gives us new strength to grow more. We are happy to announce now that we will increase our prize money again in 2015.”
Centre Court ATP Challenger Genova
The AON Open Challenger in Genova takes place in September
150 ATP Challenger Tour events took place in 2014 all around the world, with 72 in Europe, 30 in Asia, 27 in South America and 21 in North America.
