Event gets thumbs-up from all quarters

NEW DELHI: The atmosphere is festive at the RK Khanna Tennis Stadium. One can hear the band playing soulful tunes in-between breaks at centre court, while food courts and sports shops line the pathway to Court 1. In the evening, young fans can be seen playing around or cheering their favourites in the ONGC-GAIL Delhi Open.

Arrangements here have got the thumbs-up from players and officials alike. In fact, Somdev Devvarman even went on to compare the $100,000 Challenger to other ATP World Tour events.

On Monday, most of the Indians were impressed by how things were in order even before the tournament had begun. “We are really looking forward to playing here,” Yuki Bhambri had said. Senior tennis writer Robert Davis even wrote that the atmosphere here reminded him of the Masters event at Indian Wells!

The organisers have experimented this week. Matches start from 2pm and go on till late, giving a chance to fans to come and see live action, free of cost, after a long day.

Like most Tour-level tournaments, organisers have been holding post-match press conferences to give players some level of importance. It’s worked out well so far.

After marquee matches on centre court, the winner throws autographed balls into the crowd, a move which has seen fans going all out to grab one. After the day’s play on Saturday, fans will even get a chance to groove to rock music.

“The players feel like they are playing in a Tour-level event,” said tournament director Manpreet Kandhari. “We wanted to create a festival atmosphere and want to organise more such tournaments .”