Monza queen of clay: "Our place in the ATP elite"

From the (broken) dream of becoming the “Italian Wimbledon“ to the (very) “miniature“ version of the Rome International. From the grass courts that would have been set up on the Formula 1 asphalt in the Monza racetrack to the red clay of the Villa Reale tennis club. Monza enters the great tennis circuit: the second week of April it will host the ATP Challenger Atkinsons Monza Open. The tournament will be directed by an experienced man like Giorgio Tarantola, a true Monza native, already at the helm of numerous Challengers in Italy and abroad. And it was him, a handful of years ago, who nominated Monza for an ATP 250 at the racetrack.

What was the winning “play” in this new game?

"At the time it was a 250, tournaments that have a very selective criterion, in that case you have to buy the license from another city. However, we reached the final and we played against Mallorca, where the organizer was Rafa Nadal's uncle. Our project was fascinating, of course, but ATP wanted courts that were already visible. Now this new opportunity. It all started with a request from former tennis player Duvier Medina, president of the organizing committee and technical director of Villa Reale Tennis. I have always asked ATP for a date for Monza, knowing that it would not be easy: Italy already has a lot of tennis, the Finals in Turin, Rome, this year the Davis Cup finals".

Yet at the end of December the good news arrived...

"Tournaments of this level are organized in a year, we have to do it in three months. But we looked at each other and said "this is a train that won't pass twice" and we jumped at the chance. A Challenger of this importance is almost a dream and also a responsibility. Now is the time to work hard to make everything perfect: we will do our utmost to ensure that Monza plays a role in the elite of Italian tennis and beyond".

On paper it will be one of the most prestigious tournaments in Italy.

"It's a category 100 ATP (like the points up for grabs for the winner) with a prize pool of 143 thousand euros. More than four times the prize pool of the Challenger that was organized in Monza until 2012. A completely different story".

And another competitive level too?

"It will be played in the same week as Monte Carlo, where the top 60-70 tennis players in the world participate. So athletes between 70th and 150th place will arrive here. I would say a very high level."

Could this be the first step to return, one day, to asking for a 250 tournament?

"At the moment the license for a 250 costs about 6 million, it is out of reach. We must focus on doing well in the April tournament: if ATP is satisfied we will have the right to renew. This is our goal, to grow "our" tournament, also in terms of prize money. We aim to build a great event by setting up long-term work, laying the foundations to remain on the ATP circuit for years and years. We count on having the support of the territory too, because the name of Monza will go around the world. Players of the highest level will arrive, plus many stars of the future such as the talents of the Next Gen".