ATP聖荷西站將吹熄燈號 里約將有新賽事
San Jose ATP tourney to close; Rio gets event
在加州聖荷西的ATP賽事在2013年將不復見。擁有美國職業冰球聖荷西鯊魚隊的聖荷西運動
與娛樂企業將要把ATP250賽事的主辦權從聖荷西移到該企業同樣擁有的曼菲斯賽事上。
The ATP tour stop in San Jose, California will cease to exist after 2013,
TENNIS.com has learned. San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises, which
owns the NHL's San Jose Sharks, will move its ATP 250 sanction from San Jose
to the tournament week currently occupied by Memphis, which it also owns.
在上週蒙地卡羅的ATP會議中，董事會證實了曼菲斯的500賽事舉辦權賣給了IMG，IMG與巴
西首富的EBX集團將於2014年在里約熱內盧籌辦500賽事。
At the ATP meetings in Monte Carlo last week, the board approved the sale of
Memphis 500-level sanction to IMG, which alongside Brazilian partner EBX will
operate an ATP World Tour 500 event in Rio de Janeiro, beginning in 2014.
聖荷西運動與娛樂企業也將聖荷西的WTA國際賽權利賣給IMG，屆時里約將會有未知場地的
男女聯合賽事。有關拉丁美洲賽事要從紅土改成硬地的呼聲一直在討論中。
San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises also sold its sanction for its
WTA International Series event in Memphis to IMG, which will host a combined
event in Rio on a yet-to-be-determined surface. There has been discussion of
playing the Latin American events on hard courts, as opposed to red clay.
2014至2015年的ATP賽事將在今年決定，而曼菲斯在2013年將縮水成250賽事。
The ATP will determine the calendar and format for 2014 and 2015 later this
year. The ATP tournament in Memphis will continue as smaller 250-level event
in 2013.
聖荷西賽事的結束也宣告從1889年起舉辦、美國第二長壽的賽事正式走入歷史。
The shutdown of San Jose means the end of the second oldest tournament in the
United States, which began in 1889 as the Pacific Coast Championships.
美國網球協會(USTA)曾寄信表達反對立場，認為這將不利於美國職業網球，讓澳洲夏季賽
及大師賽之間留了缺口。以目前來說，聖荷西站是澳洲夏季賽後美國第一個賽事，且傳統
上都在二月的第二周舉行。隨後則有曼菲斯、德雷海灘、印地安泉及邁阿密。USTA認為以
往那五周都待在美國的選手將移往同時間的歐洲及拉丁美洲賽事，使參賽陣容更弱。
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) had sent a letter to the ATP
objecting to the sale, as it could have a detrimental effect on U.S. pro
tennis, as it will leave a hole in between the Australian summer and the
Masters Series tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami in March. Currently, San
Jose is the first U.S. event after the Aussie summer, and it traditionally
occurs during the second week of February. It has been followed by the
tournaments in Memphis, Delray Beach, Indian Wells, and Miami. USTA officials
are concerned that players who have traditionally stayed in the U.S. during
the five-week stretch might take their services elsewhere and weaken the
fields. There are also events in Europe and Latin American at that time.
而ATP另外要面對的問題來自拉丁美洲，一些賽事想將紅土改成硬地賽事以吸引高階選手。
過去ATP曾反對這項舉動，但即便是固定在這一連串賽事參賽的選手如Ferrer、Almagro表
達希望維持紅土的立場，大部分的賽事－如智利、巴西、阿根廷與墨西哥－都準備好要變
更場地。
An additional complication that the ATP faces is that some of the tournaments
in Latin America have proposed converting from red clay courts to hard courts
in an attempt to attract more high-level players. The ATP has opposed that
move in the past, but most of those current tournaments—Vina Del Mar, Sao
Paolo, Buenos Aires, and Acapulco—seem ready to make the switch, even though
some of the players who traditionally have played the swing, such as David
Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro, have said they want the tournaments to remain
clay-court events.
IMG看到里約熱內盧將舉辦2014年世界盃與2016年奧運、未來五年聚焦在此，將賽事移到
這裡將可獲利。
IMG sees benefits in moving a tournament to Rio, a city that will be in the
spotlight over the next five years, as it will host the 2014 World Cup
(soccer) and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
(聖荷西賽事的歷史)
The Northern California tournament was once played at the historic Berkeley
Tennis Club and includes many all-time greats as past champions, including
Don Budge, Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, and John McEnroe. It moved from San
Francisco to San Jose in 1994 and had done well attendance wise for the most
part, but since the retirement of regulars like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi,
and Michael Chang, and the declining fortunes of Andy Roddick, attendance has
been up and down. San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises bought the
tournament from longtime promoter and former Top-10 player Barry MacKay in
1995.
除了印地安泉、邁阿密與辛辛那提大師賽外，其餘美國ATP賽事都不怎麼讓球迷蜂擁而至。
Outside of the Masters tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati, no
U.S. ATP tournament of the 250- or 500-level packs in fans attendance-wise.
1980年時，從一月中到五月初曾有多達二十個美國ATP賽事，其中十二個是室內賽事。而
隨著聖荷西站走入歷史，同時期的美國現在五個賽事將只剩Memphis一個室內賽。
In 1980, there were 20 ATP tournaments played in the United States between
mid-January and early May, 12 of which were indoor. With San Jose’s exit,
there will only be one indoor and five overall tournaments.
在美國夏季賽事，亞特蘭大站與洛杉磯站也同樣面臨困境。然而周一傳出亞特蘭大站與
BB&T(美國的銀行企業)簽下掛名合作，而辛辛那提也與西南財團延長合約到2014年。
The ATP summer tournaments in Atlanta and L.A. are both admittedly
struggling. However on Monday, Atlanta announced that it had signed a new
title sponsor in BB& T, and the Masters tournament in Cincinnati announced
that Western & Southern extended its deal as title sponsor through 2014.
而花旗集團也和華盛頓站簽五年約，成為這美國僅存ATP500賽事的新掛名贊助商。
Sports Business Journal also reported that Citigroup will become the new
title sponsor of the combined Washington D.C. tournament for the next five
years. The Washington ATP spot is now the only 500-level tournament in the
U.S.—Matt Cronin
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