While Berlin is known more for its artistic vagabond art scene than its athletic accomplishments, Berliners do still love to watch sports (other than football.) Berlin tennis fans suffered a blow this year with the announcement of the cancellation of the Qatar Telecom German Open. What was formerly one of the longest running tournaments on the WTA Tour and one of the most important lead ups to the French Open, is now a page of history.
Qatar decided to sell the Tier II tournament back to the WTA, due to unnamed reasons. Last year’s winner, Russian Dinara Safina, must now look elsewhere to replace the points she won on its clay courts in 2008.
Now that the Hamburg Open has been downgraded from a Masters Series to a 500 level tournament, German tennis has undeniably lost a large chunk of signifigance. The days of Steffi Graf and Boris Becker are long gone. The 7,000-seat arena, which is named after Steffi Graf, is too expensive to be tore down, and until a more positive period of German tennis appears, will remain empty.
Author: CA
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