Hong Kong fans should make the most of today's Salem Open final between Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya. For this could well be the last time the ATP tournament is played here.
Next year the event is slated to move to Beijing, according to Lincoln Venancio, tournament director of the 2002 event and managing director of Salem Open Limited. He said the chances of Beijing taking over from Hong Kong were 'very, very good'.
'We have applied to the ATP to move to Beijing in 2003. And it is extremely likely that the ATP will grant us permission to move. We have had 13 amazing years in Hong Kong but we see the Olympic opportunity and we feel we have to move to Beijing now. It is purely a business decision,' Venancio said yesterday.
The ATP's board of directors will take a decision in early November, according to Venancio. 'The feedback has been positive and it is looking very good,' said Venancio, who has been involved with the Salem Open ever since the ATP Tour began in 1990. Hong Kong is a founding member of the ATP Tour.
Venancio runs Tennis Management Limited, the company that holds the ATP licence to host a professional tournament in Hong Kong. Two months ago, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's Tom Group took control of 60 per cent of Tennis Management Limited. And at about the same time, a decision was taken to move the SAR's only ATP tournament - one of four in Asia - to the mainland's capital.
'The Olympics are the main reason we are moving. They are building state-of-the-art facilities for tennis similar to what Sydney had for the 2000 Games. The economic upswing in Beijing is also a factor with most of our corporate clients looking to China as a growth market. Also sports in Beijing is a number one priority,' said Venancio, ticking off the reasons for the move.
