Recently concluded tournament scored exceptionally high marks once again for its organisation and is fast becoming a 'super favourite' destination amongst players on the Tour.
It has been three years since the Malaysian Open first arrived on our shores, bringing with it some of the best tennis players from around the globe and showcasing the best live tennis that Malaysians have ever seen.
At three years old, it may still be an infant compared to more established neighbouring tournaments such as the Thailand Open that has been held since 2003, but it has quickly established itself as one of the best organised and most enjoyable tournaments amongst officials, staff and most importantly, the players on the ATP World Tour.
The latest edition of the tournament, the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2011, which concluded on Sunday and saw Serbian Janko Tipsarevic make personal history with his first title on the Tour, once again scored the tournament top marks in the official post-event report from ATP Supervisor Tom Barnes.
The report, which covers all aspects of the tournament, such as PR and marketing, accommodation, transport, hospitality, player satisfaction and technical aspects such as lighting, court surface, officials, medical and physio services, paid glowing tribute to the organisers and staff for another impeccable outing.
“Nick (Freyer) and the rest of his IMG team showed the players and ATP a very friendly, relax(ed) and well organized event. Players received everything they needed to perform well and enjoy their time in Malaysia. (It was a) great week of tennis. The sole challenge for the future is crowd attendance. I know the tournament is working extremely hard to improve the current situation. This event has all the ingredients to be one of the best indoor 250s on the ATP circuit,” the report read.
As Malaysians, we can be especially proud of the fact that our world-renowned hospitality, food and friendliness has shone through in an internationally recognised sporting event televised globally, such as this, as Tom Barnes notes “in particular, the players and staff enjoyed the VIP treatment they received… The Mandarin Oriental hotel is excellent… Transportation is excellent - it is a pleasure to have the transport system reliable and punctual… the on-site food was catered by the hotel and was excellent.”
The Malaysian Open is organised by IMG, which had received a five-year contract to run the event from 2009 to 2013, and Tournament Director Nick Freyer was delighted to receive the outstanding review.
"We are humbled by the excellent Supervisors report. Tom Barnes is an ex-US Marine, has been on Tour since it was launched in 1990 and is tough as nails. To receive such glowing praise in all areas of the tournament from a Supervisor who has seen everything, with the exception of attendance, really is an outstanding result and kudos belongs to every single person that has supported us and who has worked so hard on the event. I am proud and happy for you all,” he said.
The players themselves, not usually known for their generous words of praise, were liberal in their praise of the tournament, with many players demonstrating their partiality by returning for the second or third time to Kuala Lumpur.
“In addition, I personally received so many wonderful comments from the players directly, including Marcos Baghdatis, Jurgen Melzer and Philip Petschner, Kei Nishikori, Ryan Harrison, Eric Butorac (who is on the ATP Players Council), Viktor Troicki and many more coaches and players, that at times, I was lost for words, and of course deeply touched,” added Freyer.
Singles champion Tipsarevic, in his post-match conference, also expressed his fondness for the event.
“I am so happy to capture my first tournament win here, in a place where I feel so comfortable and have enjoyed myself so much. I think this tournament has the potential to become an ATP 500 event,” the 27-year-old Serbian had said.
Other aspects of the tournament that received top marks were the courts that were “excellent and professional in appearance”, the practice courts, which were “large enough and good enough to use during qualifying if they were needed”, the ball boys and girls were “well trained, disciplined and hard working”, the “(local) massage therapists were highly recommended by the players and thought they were some of the best on the entire Tour” and even the “the DJ changeover music is fantastic… the sound quality in the stadium is of concert quality.”
“Malaysia really has something very special with this tournament, something extremely world class and something that shines the best possible light on so many aspects of this wonderful country,” added Freyer, who is already looking forward to putting on an even bigger and better show next year
