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Is there still enough demand even without Roger Federer?
Compared to the era under the twenty-time Grand Slam winner, the tournament has suffered a decline of around ten percent in ticket sales. Tournament director Roger Brennwald (77) still considers a weekly total of almost 63,000 spectators as a “very positive result”. The event passed its first major test after Federer’s resignation – many tickets had already been sold in 2022 as fans hoped for Federer’s comeback in Basel. But it has also become apparent that the short-term cancellation of a superstar like Carlos Alcaraz (20) hits the tournament hard in terms of ticket sales, charisma and atmosphere. “I hate that like the devil hates holy water,” Brennwald admits. And it also turns out: the tournament is urgently dependent on the success of the Swiss and the emerging new generation of tennis. Dominic Stricker (21) played a major role in the tournament with his spectacular breakthrough to the quarter-finals. The same applies to top seed Holger Rune (20) and his participation in the semi-finals.
To what extent will the tournament suffer from Federer’s cancellation?
He is the big absentee at the Swiss Indoors: Roger Federer (42) has decided not to miss his home tournament in Basel this year, he announced to CH Media in June. He “couldn’t do this emotionally,” said the maestro, who resigned in September 2022. Still, many fans would have liked to see Federer again in the St. Jakobshalle – and regret that he did not achieve a similar performance in Basel as he did at Wimbledon, for example. It fits in with the idea that Federer prefers to be in Paris for the final of the Rugby World Cup in the final weekend of Basel. Whatever happened between Brennwald and Federer, the absence of the former ball boy, who became the record winner of the event, leaves a bad taste.
What did star coach Boris Becker’s performance bring?
The fact that Boris Becker (55) was in the box of the Danish youngster Rune for the first time in Basel was a stroke of luck for the tournament. The German compensated for Alcaraz’s cancellation to a certain extent. However, it is a shame that he did not appear before the media – apart from a hasty SRF TV interview. And instead he did this during a lecture that had long been planned at the tournament in Vienna that was taking place at the same time.
Will the tournament lose to the competition from Vienna?
Yes, definitely this year. While the capital of Austria had a dream week and tournament numbers one to four (Medvedev, Sinner, Rublev and Tsitsipas) actually reached the two semi-finals, Basel followed up Alcaraz’s cancellation. Brennwald also had to admit that Vienna was “ahead” due to the Spaniard’s injury, but then specified: “In my opinion, for the first time in all these years.”
What’s next?
The ATP has guaranteed Swiss Indoors 500 status until 2037. The tournament will remain in Basel despite speculation about migration, as Brennwald once again emphasizes: “Moving was out of the question.” But one thing is also clear: Switzerland’s most expensive sporting event, with a budget of 18 million francs, will have to keep stretching to ensure an attractive field of participants. The work starts today. Brennwald: “After the tournament is before the tournament.”
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
