Tennis at Chikmagalur

IN Opinion | 25/04/2006

FROM THE STANDS

S R Khelkoodkar

With so much international tennis being played this week there was ample fodder, and most newspapers satisfied their tennis appetites on these alone. However, for those that chose to look homeward, there was also the start of the ATP Challenger tournaments season to talk about.

It seems the Indian tennis authorities have decided to hold these tournaments at smaller, district venues, in a bid to raise the popularity of the sport. The first tournament began on April 17 at Chikmagalur. In the lyrical words of the Hindu, `tennis players will literally wake up and smell the coffee as the main draw of the Coffee Cup ATP Challenger tournament kicks off at the Centenary Stadium courts on Monday in this hill station famous for its verdant coffee estates and salubrious weather.`

According to the Hindu, the district commissioner said "I`m happy that we are hosting this event and I`m sure that the tennis facilities will enhance the region`s tourism potential."

Noble enough, but the cons of having such small venues were immediately visible to the discerning reporter. Said The Hindu, `Three synthetic hard courts have been laid, costing nearly Rs. 40 lakh, though the fourth practice court is not yet ready and has left some players frustrated.`

Meanwhile, as the tennis went on, it didn`t take long for other problems to surface, and newspaper attention was quick to catch on to these. The Times of India reported that `The first round match between American Philip King and German Sebastian Rieschick on Court Number One was stopped for 14-minutes as the tournament had run dry of its stock of drinking water at 11.30 am.`

The facilities, too, didn`t seem adequate. Said the article:

`Play continued on the Centre Court without a scoreboard, defeating the very purpose of bringing tournaments like this to smaller towns. Most of the spectators here are attending the event either out of idle curiosity or because they are sports enthusiasts, which is different from being a tennis fan, because of which it is absolutely imperative to have scoreboards. Most spectators were straining their ears, virtually falling off their delicately balanced seats, in order to find out what was happening on court each time the chair umpire called score between games.`

The Times of India, as always, cannot resist a little bit of flair. Therefore, `As John McEnroe once said, "You cannot be serious!" Welcome to the Coffee Cup ATP Challenger.`

With the next tournament due to start in Dharwad on April 25, the curious reader would naturally wonder what the state of facilities there will be like. The Deccan Herald is reassuring. `After the bumpy ride in Chikmagalur last week, the Challenger bandwagon rolled into Dharwad nice and smooth. And unlike Chikmagalur, there was clockwork precision to everything on tournament eve here, order replacing chaos. Most of all, a practice court too was available -- a luxury last week at the coffee town.`

But reassuring does not mean positive, as it shows when it says, `a Chikmagalur repeat -- on the courts, that is -- can`t be ruled out.`

The Hindu, though, is confident. `The organisers at the Dharwad District Tennis Association courts are fully equipped to run the event, which begins with the main draw on Tuesday, in a more professional manner.`

What happens in the tennis is secondary. We wait expectantly for reports on all the juicy stuff, especially what goes wrong.