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MILLENNIUM ESTORIL OPEN: CASCAIS IN THE WORLDWIDE TENNIS CIRCUIT
The new identity of Portuguese tennis on the worldwide circuit is called Millennium Estoril Open and already has a new stage, Cascais. And a new setting, the Clube de Ténis do Estoril (Estoril Tennis Club). The event has returned to its roots and guarantees the position of Portugal in the ATP World Tour. The Portuguese tennis number 1, João Sousa, is one of the big names who have been confirmed for the tournament which will be held from the 25th of April to the 3rd of May at the Clube de Ténis do Estoril (Estoril Tennis Club).
The new Millennium Estoril Open was presented on Thursday, 5th of February, in Cascais, and confirmed the continuation of Portugal in the official ATP World Tour calendar, which has occurred since 1990.
With three night sessions and João Zilhão as Director, the Millennium Estoril Open was presented today at a press conference held at Cidadela de Cascais (Cascais Citadel). The tournament has been guaranteed for three years and will take place from the 25th of April to the 3rd of May at Clube de Ténis do Estoril (Estoril Tennis Club) and will have 2,000 seats to ensure a greater proximity between the public and tennis players. Sponsored by Millennium BCP, the new Estoril Open follows the tournament which was organised for 25 years at the complex in Jamor by João Lagos, and arises from the joining of efforts from U.Com, a communications and events organisation company based in Germany, the Dutch businessman and ex-tennis player Benno Van Veggel and Polaris Sports, owned by the businessman Jorge Mendes.
This type of international event has a positive impact at all levels of the municipality, namely in the hotel and catering industry and businesses as it ultimately creates employment and makes Cascais more attractive and competitive, as stated by Carlos Carreiras, Mayor of Câmara Municipal de Cascais (Municipal Council of Cascais) who clarified: “There is absolutely no financial involvement of the municipal budget in the organisation of this tournament. Our share is about 25% - a global average in events of this nature - and can reach 400 thousand Euros and wholly comes from the concession of the games zone of Estoril”.
Present at the press conference to present the event, Emídio Guerreiro, Secretary of State for Sports, considered the tournament as being “the confirmation of Portugal as being a destination of excellence for the practising of sports at the highest level", adding that its holding is "part of the strategy for the economy of sports in the country”.
The tournament will be held at Clube de Ténis do Estoril (Estoril Tennis Club) whose central court was worthy of an approval from Carlos Sanches, the Portuguese supervisor at ATP. To hold this competition, this court will be expanded with additional temporary stands and will have approximately 4,000 seats, 2,000 less than at the Jamor complex.
Filipe Soares Franco, Chairman of the Clube de Ténis do Estoril (Estoril tennis Club) therefore guarantees that "practically all of the logistical conditions have been met for this event to go ahead. Although we still have some fine tuning to carry out, we are on the correct path and will definitely get there.”
In the opinion of the organising entity, the selection of this private space allowed a "cosier tournament with greater concentration of the audience, as is the case with competitions like those held at the Queen’s Club in London, at the "Real Clube de Ténis de Barcelona", or at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Monaco.
