HomeSport
Split
He was a size too big for the German participant Jan-Lennard Struff: Benoit Paire. © Eibner/Imago
The “Ultimate Tennis Showdown” format was well received by the audience in Frankfurt, but some players were visibly annoyed. But the surroundings didn’t dampen the players’ will to win.
It thunders from the loudspeakers in the ball sports hall. Lights out, spot on for “The Thunder”. Fittingly, Jan-Lennard Struff runs in to the ACDC evergreen “Thunderstruck” to the cheers of the tennis fans. Red glowing lettering announces his arrival above the LED boards on the blue playing field. At the Davis Cup games, which the 33-year-old German hope skipped after his three-month break due to a hip injury, they usually call him “the Struffi”.
Struff felt that this trivialization would not have been a good fit for the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, or UTS for short. He chose “The Thunder” from several suggestions from the organizer. That’s actually an honor for him, given his powerful serve and whipping forehand.
For Struff, his comeback in Frankfurt was against the “Ice Man”, the “G-Unit”, named after a former rapper group around world star Eminem, and the “Rebel”. This refers to the three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud, number nine in the world rankings, Grigor Dimitrov (20th) and the French beard wearer Benoit Paire (124th). Even the latter was still a bit too big for the brave Struff.
Given his current playing strength and his nature – Struff can be classified as reserved and modest – “The Thunder” didn’t really fit into the format. UTS inventor Patrick Mouratoglou deliberately wanted to inspire young people and those young at heart with colorful personalities. Just like it works in other sports. Making tennis fit for the future with its aging crowd, 61 years old on average.
Fans of all eight participants made their presence felt in the stands of the ball sports hall, which were not fully occupied on all three match days. The youth players from TC Blau-Weiß Bad Soden were thrilled. They were one of the clubs in the region that had been offered player sponsorship by UTS, including free tickets. The girls were even allowed to get to know “Rublo” briefly, which was exciting, said Katharina Fischer, the club’s youth representative.
On match days, Bad Soden’s young tennis talent held up a huge cardboard photo of world number six Andrey Rublev, labeled banners and cheered on “his hero”. Identifying with the players – that’s what idea creator Mouratoglou is all about. “You must love him or hate him,” says Serena Williams’ charismatic ex-coach.
During the UTS, the organizers try to put the players in the spotlight off the court. During the breaks in the four eight-minute quarters of a match, in which counting is carried out like in a tiebreak and the players can gamble (the next point counts three times!), they are also interviewed while panting and sweating. They answer quiz questions and are asked to dance. In the hall, however, the conversation could hardly be heard acoustically, and even on the pay channel Sky, which broadcasts the UTS live, it only came across as somewhat entertaining.
Mouratoglou had employed a German agency to handle the tennis revolution, for which 150 people (and several sub-companies from France and Italy) were employed. A fifth of the tickets were given away. High, unquantified prize money attracted the professionals. After the tournaments in Los Angeles and Frankfurt, the first on European soil, the UTS will debut in Asia: in December in Seoul. Businessman Mouratoglou, who runs tennis academies around the world, makes no secret of the fact that he would like to establish his idea in the tournament calendar alongside the ATP Tour.
The following also applies to its interesting and discussion-worthy format: “You love it or you hate it.” The children and young people in particular clearly enjoyed the hustle and bustle in the arena, where they could move freely during the rallies and also be loud at times. A DJ played music constantly. The players were very patient in fulfilling requests for autographs after the matches.
What made the game more attractive was the 15-second breather between rallies. The “Hawk-Eye” replaced the line judges, and if there were controversial points, the direction played the video evidence directly. It always continued in rhythm. The fact that the players only have one attempt at serving didn’t always make for nice rallies. The actions sometimes seemed rushed.
Only the professionals who had already internalized the format served with less risk, sometimes throwing the felt ball through their legs or letting a ball girl play along briefly, like “La Monf” Gael Monfils.
Other players openly admitted that the hustle and bustle was “totally annoying”. Like Rublev, who became an enfant terrible in the absence of the injured Nick Kyrgios. Love him or hate him. In any case, the players came across as authentic and not artificial; their will to win was noticeable at all times despite the many show effects.
It was the same with “The Thunder”. And even if it didn’t work out in terms of sport, Jan-Lennard Struff could be sure of one thing: the biggest applause belongs to the local hero. That will never change in tennis either.
2023-09-19 03:24:15
#Tennis #show #Frankfurt #roars #thunders
