The talk with Martín Jaite, former world Top 10 tennis player and director of the Argentina Open for 26 years, begins relaxed and football-oriented.”You are from Boca, Minu (his partner and former tennis player Christian Miniussi) is also from Boca and all the foreign tennis players who come to play are taken to the Boca court. What happened, did Berretini escape?! He went to the River court.”Martín laughs and gestures and tries to explain: “No, what happened was that Matteo wanted to go to the field on the weekend, but Boca was playing as a visitor. So, he went to River’s field. In reality, he wanted to experience Argentine soccer on a soccer field, without anyone bothering him,” he closes, while adjusting his hair.
– Martín, 26th edition of a tournament that has grown a lot and which has been renewed.
– Yes, we are renewing it year after year, we are always seeing things improve, to be able to grow.The public also asks for it.We increasingly have more and larger areas.But it also has to do with the standards that the ATP often asks of us, which are added to the standards that we have within the organization.
– The tournament always looked bigger than an ATP 250 and requires a lot of investment, but it is Argentina.Is the investment recovered?
– Look, since we’re 26 years ago, you can imagine that I love doing the tournament, it’s like my baby, but I work for a company and companies need to make money, if you don’t win, you’ll close.So turning 26 leaves a mark that, financially, the tournament is in good health.The tournament is good.
– Are the players and the ATP happy with the changes they have implemented?
– This is the third year since we renovated all the locker rooms and the entire players’ area.It was very important, because we were already a little behind.That first renovation was very well received by the players. Afterwards we had to renew and grow in the entire recreation and rest area for the players.Now we have a spectacular recovery room, which is also a bit of a requirement from the ATP, which requires more and more things from you, because the players use more and more things for recovery. They have seen all these things with good eyes: the growth of the gym, the entire outdoor area to do the previous warm-up, recovery, the players’ restaurant, where we have grown a lot in the quality gastronomic offer for the players, those things are very positive for us.And every time you give a player a new area or a new product, they are happy.
– I was thinking of a comparison with your time, thanks to the fact that they gave you water and some massages.
– Yes, that changed a lot, I mean, we’re talking about 35 years ago, but I’m not going that far back.I mean, when I was playing La Legión, back in 2003 or 2006, we already saw everything that had evolved.Today, if you think about it, 5 or 6 years ago compared to what it is today, the requirements are much greater and the tournament has also seen much greater growth.And it goes a bit hand in hand with both things, too, because of the public and the players who respond to us.
– The tournament makes a lot of investment, but suddenly, the ATP seems to turn its back on South America.He takes one tournament away from the Tour and the Argentina Open remains attached to the Davis Cup.How does it impact the tournament?Does it affect you a lot?
– Actually, if you think about it, it’s not that there is animosity against South America or against Argentina, there is a reordering of the circuit.The same situation that we are suffering, Europe began to suffer in the Rotterdam and Marseille tournaments, the same thing that happens in the United States, with Dallas and Delray Beach.A tournament appears on the horizon of 2028, in the Arab countries, which reformulates the entire circuit a little.But, we are sure of one thing, because the ATP told us, that they do not want the South American tour to shrink or disappear, but rather they want to see how, together, we can enhance it.
– Have you been thinking about what solution you can provide to the ATP?
– Yeah!Don’t forget that three years ago we applied for the tournament to be an ATP500 and we ended up losing in the last instance to those from Doha (he grimaces at the economic and budgetary difference).We aim to understand the best ATP 250 and we understand that we have the organizational capacity to make a 500, but, for that, we must obtain a license for a 500 tournament.We are already prepared.We have to see how the calendar is rearranged.The ideal, if you ask me, would be to be able to have two ATP 500 in South America, to strengthen the region, but that no longer depends on us.
– Did they propose any change of date or any action?
– Yes, we have been talking to ATP for a long time, because this issue of the new Masters1000 in the Arab countries did not arise overnight.I can’t imagine a rearrangement of dates for the South American Tour.We have to see how the circuit is rearranged for the month of February, because with the arrival of the new M1000 the losers are the United States, South America and Europe.In other words, it’s not that there is a single tour that is harmed.
– The tournament is not going to disappear
– No, no way!
-Gaudenzi came (the ATP CEO arrived with his son and former tennis player PabloAndújar), were you able to confirm anything?
-We didn’t know why he was coming, but he was arriving for the weekend.He toured the entire club, not just the championship part, and was amazed at how the entire tournament grew, compared to the years he came to play it.
-I suppose that the public framework must also have its weight
-Completely.He was struck by the culture of tennis, the response and passion that the Argentine public has.He didn’t remember it that way.According to him, they do not want to lose the South American tour, they want to enhance it and make it competitive.But, we have to wait until 2028 and see how the M1000 from Arab countries turns out
-And how did it end?
-As appropriate in Argentina, we went to dinner at a grill with them and Kristoff (Puelinckx, owner of Tennium), but more to chat on a social level.
– It is noticeable that the contest has become much more corporate and it is the companies that invite people.Is this true or are there still ticket sales for the public?
– No, there is still a lot of sales for the public, but the percentages are decreasing.In other words, think that, five years ago, we had a capacity at the Tennium Club (VIP Sector) of 500 diners and, today, it is close to 800. Despite this increase, that part is exhausted and we have a waiting list for companies that want to have a box for their clients.The corporate part, in recent years, has grown a lot, but I think it has been in sports in general.
– It is seen as a social event, too.
– Of course, absolutely social!In fact, the number of people who enter the VIP tent on a Monday or Tuesday is very similar to the number that arrives on a Friday or Saturday.Today sport is seen as entertainment and not only for the tennis match, although, obviously, without the tennis match there is no tournament.
– What do you dream for the tournament now?
– May it continue to grow.But, if you ask me what the next goal would be, I would say getting the license and being an ATP 500. After 26 years of work, it would be like a reward for us.
