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MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERSApril 21, 2013Zeljko FranulovicMONTE CARLO, MONACO ZELJKO FRANULOVIC: Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to all of you for this traditional appointment we have every year where I can give you the results of this 107th edition of the Monte‑Carlo Rolex Masters. The launching of the tournament took place in the heart of the principality. This year we were celebrating the 150th anniversary of SBM and the Monte‑Carlo Rolex Masters who became a guest of the casino square to open the tournament on Saturday, the 13th of April, 2013, meeting all the tennis fans with the following program: An exceptional exhibition of mini tennis on the casino square by the top two players in the world, Novak Djokovic, No.1, and Andy Murray, No. 2, followed by the draw in the presence of Rafael Nadal, the Spanish player, who then attended a private visit of an unprecedented photo exhibition named Good Shots. That exhibition was organized to pay tribute to the work of our photographer friends who have been accredited to the tournament during the past years. This year the draw was a very high quality with, at the start, 9 out of the 10 best players in the world, ending up with 8 of the top 10, because David Ferrer had to pull out because of an injury, although he really tried to participate but had to pull out at the last minute. We experienced high‑quality matches also. We witnessed very high quality tennis during the whole week, in particular in the quarterfinal between Nadal and Dimitrov, between Tsonga and Wawrinka, or even in the Round of 16 between Nieminen and Del Potro. We are now having a dream final to end this week on a high note. We will have the privilege of watching a match which I hope will remain in all the memories of the Monte‑Carlo Rolex Masters, since two of the greatest champions of the time will play each other after having done everything they could to be able to participate in this tournament and to reach the final. I understand the efforts they made, both of them, to reach that level. I would like to convey my deepest respect and profound appreciation to them for that. The weather was also on our side for the whole week. We had bright sunshine during the first eight days, with a slight degradation towards the end of the week, which didn't have any particular impact on our schedule. Let's hope the skies will be favorable today, too, for a few extra hours. Again, the crowd was here in numbers. We met the record of 2012 with 127,000 spectators, and we are extremely pleased with this. I don't want to forget to essential event for many of you: the press tournament, presented in cooperation with Sergio Tacchini who I am thanking today that the presence of Patrizia Bolzoni and Cristina Clerici. You were 34 players this year. This is also a record in participation. We are now waiting for the results of the last match on the Princes Court, and we are will give you your prizes shortly. This year we had 468 accreditations, another record. Among them, 153 for written press, 89 photographers, 16 radios, and 210 for television. I would like to thank you very warmly, all of you, for your coverage and your loyalty to the tournament. As a follow‑up to the efforts we have been making during the past years, we are still working on new facilities to improve your working conditions. This is one of our priorities for 2014. I'm going to make an appointment with you for the 108th edition of the Monte‑Carlo Rolex Masters which will take place from April 12th to April 20th, 2014. I'm now available to answer any questions you might have, and then we'll share friendly drink. Q. Could we possibly play the Nadal/Djokovic match one hour earlier to avoid the delay with the rain? ZELJKO FRANULOVIC: It would be great to have this flexibility but there are so many parameters that have to be taken into account. First of all, the crowd, they are coming from Marseille, Genoa, everywhere. They would be late for the beginning of the match. Also TV is important. Not only French or Italian TV, but all over the world. The Australian person in front of their television has to be on time. Even one minute late can be a problem because there is such a synchronization for the match. Once the problems arrive, we have a bit more flexibility, but the start of the match cannot change, unfortunately. Q. About the press stands, there's a barrier, a fence. From most seats you can see only half of the court. In some tournaments there's glass there instead, so could we improve that? ZELJKO FRANULOVIC: No question about it. There are titanic works on the tribune that you just mentioned. We realized that some angles are no good. It happens when you work on the plans. Including the barrier that you just mentioned, this is the first thing we will work on next year to improve. Q. What would be better for the image of the tournament? Of course, you have the top two players on clay and you can't ask for better. But last year Nadal made a record, winning eight times. Nobody else has done it. Djokovic has never won this tournament. He's a resident here, apparently a friend of the family and so on. Do you think it's better if a player like Djokovic wins this tournament and finally beats Nadal on clay or is it better that you go on nine tournaments won by Nadal, so on? Difficult to say. ZELJKO FRANULOVIC: I think it is a question for media, as you said. For a tournament director, having No.1 and No. 2 in the world, popularity‑wise, personality‑wise, quality of the game, we have to start from there. So we have the best finalists possible. It's very difficult for me because both players are very, very special, very exceptional. I don't think it means for the tournament that one or the other wins the tournament, it's the way they play and perform. For us it's very important to have a final that will, as I try to say here, people remember. Unfortunately last year it was not the case. We had the same two players. Who wins, it's really relative for me. If Nadal wins nine times, it is a media scoop. Somebody wins nine times in a row. If Novak wins, he won first time. He lives here. It's a win‑win situation for me personally and the tournament. Let's just wait and see. Q. Nadal emphasizes the importance that this event is very historical and traditional. For you as a tournament director, how important is it to keep this tradition? ZELJKO FRANULOVIC: I would say it's a number one priority for us, what you just said. There are many tournaments in the world, Grand Slams, Masters 1000. Tradition, as you mentioned, is the number one priority for us. Not all of them have this tradition. Not all of them have this prestige. That's why I'm really glad that not we have to say this, because everybody knows here, that the player comes and says himself that this tournament is traditional, he appreciates it, not only for the prize money or points, the hospitality, which all of these events are doing their best. There is a little plus here in Monaco, 107th and 108th edition, the club is even older than that, and everything that is around is tradition, the principality behind this event, we have the support of Prince Albert and the family. There is a certain elegance and lifestyle around this. I think the players appreciate that. When it comes to winning an event, of course, there are Grand Slams, but we are very close to this. They like to win this title, the players. That's what Rafa said, I think. Q. Many Masters 1000 have also women at the tournament. When they have courts, they have the same week. When they don't have courts, they play like the Canadian Open, the men in Montréal, the women in Toronto. Do you think for this tournament the women have a chance in the future to have their tournament? Would you see it good or bad for you? ZELJKO FRANULOVIC: We all love women in general. Also talking about tennis, we appreciate the quality of tennis they play, the things they contribute to the sport with their participation in the events. The problem here is that we have given it a thought many, many times. Of course, we've thought about having a combined event or having a event like Rome used to have, after, which was kind of an anticlimax. A combined event here really wouldn't work. We have a very specific site that is limited by the surface. You would have to double up everything, the locker rooms, transport. Q. I wasn't thinking about the same week. ZELJKO FRANULOVIC: Now someone has to think economically, too. Maybe not me, because as I said, I like the women playing tennis here. I don't think you would have more than 127,000 people in a week unless we build another stadium, which we cannot. I think the answer is unfortunately not. Not that we haven't given it a thought many times. It would not make great sense to our event, which is traditionally a men's event. There is the Coupe de Prince. Unfortunately I don't think in the future we will be considering this option. A tribute to Babette. I take this opportunity to thank someone you know very well who was at your service for more than 20 years, always ready to meet your needs with her famous smile. I would like to call Babette to come up here with me because I would like to tell her how grateful I am and thank her very warmly for all these years of dedication and kindness. I will never give the floor to Alain Manigley who is going to give the awards for the photo competition of 2012, and also to Stephane et Yann for the press tournament. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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