Sarasota Open Continues to Attract Players, Crowds

LONGBOAT KEY - The destination is more than enough to sell world-class tennis players, but the 2011 Sarasota Open will be viewed as a proving ground by some of its competitors.

With the venue at the Tennis Gardens at the Longboat Key Club & Resort and the surrounding amenities being enough to attract players such as 10-time ATP Tour winner and 2007 Davis Cup championship team member James Blake, others will come to the fourth annual tournament to build upon their point totals and gain entry into the main draw of the French Open. Qualifying for the 32-competitor main singles draw and the main doubles draw of 16 teams gets underway on Saturday at 10 am and resumes on Sunday at 11 am.

Main-draw competition in singles and doubles will begin at 11 am from Monday through April 29, while the tournament semifinals and championship matches are slated to begin at 1 pm on April 30 and May 1, respectively. The feature night matches from Monday through April 29 will start no sooner than at 7 pm.

Tournament CEO Tony Driscoll estimates that 90 percent of the players from last year’s event played in the French Open and the U.S. Open. Japan’s Kei Nishikori, who is currently ranked 48th in the world among men’s singles players, won the 2010 Sarasota Open with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Argentina’s Brian Dabul.

“We have eight players in the top 100 this year and we have eight players that were once in the top 50, so we have a really good draw,” Driscoll said.

Currently classified as an ATP Challenger Tour, the $75,000 tournament is being played at the Tennis Gardens at the Longboat Key & Resort Club for the third straight year. The inaugural event was played in 2008 at Bradenton’s El Conquistador Racquet Club.

“The way the community has embraced it has grown every year,” Driscoll said. “We’re going to beat tickets sales from last year. From last year to this year, we’re about 25 percent ahead (in ticket sales). It also helps that we moved to three weeks earlier in the calendar, so we’re in-season.”

According to Driscoll, the tournament’s economic impact on the community was in the $6 million range last year. A number that ranks second only to Baltimore Orioles spring training in terms of economic impact generated by local sporting events.

The year’s event is on pace to eclipse 30,000 in ticket sales. The community response to the tournament is one reason why Driscoll believes it can increase in prize money and stature.

“Over the next two years, our goal is to have a lot bit more prize and become a higher-level ATP tournament,” Driscoll said. “Getting the prize money to ($500,000) to $1,000,000 would be the way to go. We’re currently a lower-level ATP tournament, but we get a lot of great players.”

Tournament action will be contested on the main stadium court and two auxiliary courts at the venue. There will also several interactive displays and sponsor exhibitions on the tournament grounds.

Grandstand/general admission tickets will be $5 for qualifying play on Saturday and Sunday, $20 from Monday through Friday, and $25 and $40, respectively, for the semifinal and championship matches. Tickets for stadium seats are $10 for qualifying play, but they cost anywhere from $40-$100 once main-draw competition begins.

“This is a great venue from a spectator’s viewpoint,” Driscoll said. “If you go to the U.S. Open, you will spend thousands and thousands of dollars to get this close."

Ticket information and other facts about the 2011 Sarasota can be found here.