When the tournament draw of the Mercedes-Benz Cup came out at
the draw party Friday night, one name was conspicuously missing
from the list.
That name being, U.S. tennis phenomenon and former U.S. Open
champion Andy Roddick.
One could just imagine the reaction of the tournament directors
and supporters of the Benz Cup as the biggest attraction of the
tournament dropped out three days before the tournament was to
begin.
But not everything is as bad as it appears.
There will be an abundance of substitutes fully capable of
replacing Roddick.
First and foremost, the beloved Andre Agassi will be playing in
his first match since suffering a sciatic nerve injury in the
French Open, and his presence alone will assure that thousands of
Southern California tennis fans come out to the event.
Agassi would have been the biggest story of the tournament,
regardless of Roddick’s presence, and Roddick’s
departure now only shines the light brighter on Agassi.
Agassi is a three-time former champion and has a 29-6 record
all-time in the tournament, and the likeyhood of him winning again
is sooner rather than later for the 35-year-old veteran.
Agassi’s U.S. counterparts in the tournament are Mardy
Fish, James Blake and Taylor Dent, all young talents who have yet
to reach their full potential. Each, however, has the capability of
winning the tournament and coming out of Roddick’s
limelight.
But the legitimacy of the tournament comes down to numbers. The
event has continued to sell out in record numbers despite the
absence of big names like Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Roddick
in recent years.
The truth is that there is a large tennis contingent in Southern
California and they will continually show up to the tournament
because the Mercedes-Benz Cup is the only men’s ATP tour
event in Los Angeles.
The average attendance has been close to 80,000 for the total
tournament the last ten years and the attendance of this
year’s tournament is projected to be the same.
“We’ve done a great job of selling tickets this
year,” media director Toby Zwikel said. “We expect our
attendance numbers this year to be similar to those of the last few
years.”
A major reason for the large attendance is the system in which
tickets are sold.
Corporate sponsors sell ticket packages far in advance of the
announcement of the players participating and thus, fans are
required to buy tickets before they know who is playing.
That leads to large crowds and vibrant tennis action regardless
of the players on the court.
Despite the novelty that Roddick would have provided to the
tournament, I for one, believe that the tournament will be
extraordinary in its own way.
E-mail Parikh at sparikh@media.ucla.edu.