After the formalities of the press conference detailing the CitiOpen merger/acquisition of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic had concluded yesterday, I wanted to talk one-on-one with former U.S. Davis Cup Captain, current super-agent and Tournament Director Donald Dell. He’s spent forty years marketing the game, and he’s the yin to the yang of former law partner and tennis statesman Ray Benton, who I interviewed two months ago. After our brief discussion on the roof of the W Hotel in Washington, D.C., I’m inclined to buy anything he’s selling. I’m sold on the notion of a joint tournament, and I think the WTA is in very good hands.
I began by asking him where pro tennis stands today.
They just announced yesterday that three new sponsors came in this week for the summer tour. BB&T just announced for Atlanta. Yesterday, the insurance company in Cincinnati just extended for another five years. And we brought Citi in, so three of the top six tournaments just had big new sponsors. There’s a really big rebirth.
Is this a sign that the US Open Series could be considered a success?
“A month ago, I would have to said to you, ‘it’s scrambling’, but today we’ve announced three news sponsors”, he said. “It’s been a while, and the support is welcome.”
What happened with CitiOpen getting a late start out of the gate last year in terms of visibility, despite the best efforts of his firm, Lagardere Unlimited, and the host, Tennis Center at College Park?
I’m not making this up. This was the first time Citi had done tennis. Their lawyers in New York were very cautious, and we didn’t get final approval for the logo and the advertising until eight days before the first ball was hit. We couldn’t announce it and couldn’t promote it, and a tournament can’t survive that way. This year, Citi was fully on board, not just for the women’s event, but to take over the title sponsorship of the men’s event too. So, we had a deal. We’re out starting promoting this (year’s CitiOpen) tomorrow. And we have a few months this time. If we didn’t get that (the timely contract), we wouldn’t be doing it. We couldn’t be doing it. But without a title sponsor, the tournament would have a difficult time surviving.
The CitiOpen runs from July 28-August 5 and the official website is citiopentennis.com.
–S. Fogleman
Tennis Atlantic 
Return Serve?