The ATP Naples ended up in the eye of the storm due to the numerous problems faced, not always in the best way, by the tournament organizers. Unfortunately, the Campania event was affected by a large number of structural difficulties and errors.
On the eve of the matches valid for access to the main draw, some tennis players refused to play on a field, the Arena, characterized by holes, furrows and irregular ball bounces. To overcome the serious problem, the qualifiers had to find a new venue, TC Pozzuoli.
Only the intervention of the FITP, which sent the two GreenSet rugs used a week earlier in Florence, partially saved the tournament. Italian Tennis CEO Angelo Binaghi told: “ATP will give us a nice fine. We hope they take into account what Italian tennis has been doing for years as an organizational effort.
In any case, we will bow our heads and comply with our obligations. It is right to be sanctioned, but I hope they take into account the good things that FITP has done with TC Napoli.”
Bertolucci against the Naples tournament: “Incomprehensible”
The first matches of the main draw were played on Tuesday 18, with a day late with respect to the schedule, and immediately presented a new and evident headache.
The risk associated with organizing an outdoor event in the month of getting turned into reality during the first evening session. The only match scheduled in the aforementioned session, the one between Luca Nardi and Corentin Moutet, was in fact postponed due to humidity, which made the pitch slippery in the area where the lines and the words Napoli are present.
Between postponements and cancellations, the organizers decided late to transform the evening session into Session 2 and completely change the program to restore dignity to the ticket division. Paolo Bertolucci, former world number 12 and winner of the only Davis Cup won by Italy, sent an unequivocal message to the tournament organizers and pointed out one of the most serious mistakes made during the whole week: “The choice to go on the pitch at 7 pm when he became a bar of soap was incomprehensible.
Even my five-year-old granddaughter would have said it. And now I don’t know if ATP will give Naples another chance.”
