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12/9/09 7:44 PM | Johan Lindahl
The summer event which a decade or more ago habitually awarded a Harley Davidson motorcycles to uber-coddled ATP players through a lucky dip looks to have faded into oblivion for 2010.
Barring a financial miracle, the Indianapolis summer stop is dead after officials were unable to come up with a new sponsor.
The hard-court event which once enjoyed a prime spot just two weeks before the start of the US Open, has slowly dropped from the radar since being move forward by the ATP into an unattractive late July week several seasons ago.
That meant that only journeymen Americans and an occasional Andy Roddick or James Blake could be counted on to play so soon after Wimbledon.
Organisers felt the pinch big-time at last summer's edition despite an all-American final where Robby Ginepri beat Sam Querrey.
Reports on the fate of Indy vary, with one saying the ATP will buy the sanction and kill the event, other possible homes might still be La Costa, California, Chicago, Charleston and Atlanta. But reports indicate that the asking price is too high to interest any of the potential bidders.
At its height, attendance topped 90,000 fans at the 80-year-old tournament, with the last edition drawing perhaps 70,000.
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Amidst pressure from the USTA and apparently several players, the ATP reversed its previous decision to kill the event and instead sold it to Atlanta.
It will be in Atlanta for at least three years, at which point the ATP has the right to kill it if it is not experiencing a turnaround for the better.
Hopefully we (and by we I mean Atlanta) will have a good fan turnout and will keep it for a long time to come.
RickyDimon , 12/11/09 4:34 AM
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it is already officially out of Indianapolis. It was sold back to the ATP last week.
There is a vote today on whether to kill the tournament altogether or to sell it to a firm in Atlanta.
RickyDimon , 12/9/09 8:06 PM