Two withdrawals less than two weeks before the tournament and a player pulling out the day of the final, it’s fair to say the Mubadala World Tennis Championship organisers had a lot to deal with during the event’s seventh edition.
But Greg Sproule, the managing director of IMG Middle East, organisers of the MWTC, insists the tournament was not compromised by the late withdrawal of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils or the fever that struck Novak Djokovic, which prevented him from contesting the final against Andy Murray on Saturday.
“I still think it’s been one of the most successful tournaments,” Sproule said following the conclusion of the MWTC.
“I think the player field that we’ve managed to assemble is phenomenal I’m very proud of that. I think the players have played exceptionally well. They’ve entertained the fans both in the Village, in hospitality and certainly on the court.
“We were very fortunate to have Feliciano (Lopez) and Nico (Almagro) join us. It’s terrible when someone isn’t able to play like Novak. But you move on.”
The tournament has strengthened its community outreach and grassroots initiatives over the years and the Interactive Village last weekend was buzzing with countless tennis fans enjoying the various activities taking place.
“From my perspective, that Mubadala is now carrying the Tennis in Schools programme deeper into April and May I think is really important to be engaging and introducing and celebrating and teaching Emirati kids to be playing tennis more. So it’s not just three months now, it’s the four or five months after the tournament,” said Sproule.
“I think those are significant achievements. There is a maturation and demand that we’re responding to. That’s what Mubadala
as our title partners want us to do and similarly FLASH as owners of the tournament are saying to us.”
