{"id":82372,"date":"2023-04-15T10:38:46","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T08:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/feliciano-lopez-el-mutua-madrid-open-es-practicamente-un-grand-slam\/"},"modified":"2023-04-15T10:42:07","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T08:42:07","slug":"feliciano-lopez-the-mutua-madrid-open-is-practically-a-grand-slam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/feliciano-lopez-the-mutua-madrid-open-is-practically-a-grand-slam\/","title":{"rendered":"Feliciano L\u00f3pez: “The Mutua Madrid Open is practically a Grand Slam”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Feliciano L\u00f3pez is embarking on his fourth edition \u2014 and fifth year, if you include 2020, when the pandemic forced the event\u2019s cancellation \u2014 at the helm of the Mutua Madrid Open. It is a very special year in many ways. To him, personally, because it will be the year he says goodbye to the game as an active player. For the tournament, because it is doubling up: the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open will be twice as big. It is a year full of challenges and, therefore, hard work and excitement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- How much work has preparing for the two tournament weeks entailed?<\/b>
\nA.- This year is a big challenge. Going from 56 to 96 players is almost doubling the number of players we\u2019ll have and that makes it practically a Grand Slam. And you have to adapt everything so much, both here in the Caja M\u00e1gica and in the city. It\u2019s not easy to find accommodation for them. Although Madrid has a large hotel capacity, it\u2019s also a city in high demand for tourism. And, in the Caja we need more services so that players are more comfortable; more courts, bigger locker rooms, a bigger canteen, etc. It\u2019s a big challenge. This year and next year we\u2019ll have to adapt. Then, the completion of the new stadium will really help us a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- \u2018Practically a Grand Slam\u2019 is a big claim\u2026<\/b>
\nA.- It was Ion Tiriac\u2019s dream. He always believed that this tournament deserved to be two weeks. OK, it\u2019s impossible to be a Grand Slam because the four majors are what they are, but we can grow as much as possible within our category, and in terms of draw formats and the new Stadium, we are reaching the limit. I think that\u2019s the amazing thing about this tournament, the way it has grown. First just men, in the Rockodrome, then the Caja M\u00e1gica, men\u2019s and women\u2019s tournaments, now two weeks\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- It is a big leap in quality.<\/b>
\nA.- It\u2019s a combination of many things. The people that work here, and many have been here since day one, are phenomenal and they have worked so hard, each in their own department to bring the tournament to where it is now. And also the help of the city and all the companies that have collaborated. The tournament\u2019s first mayor, \u00c1lvarez del Manzano, believed in the project and it wasn\u2019t an easy idea to sell, because it had been many years since elite tennis had been in Madrid. We have to be eternally grateful to Manolo Santana for achieving it. Since then, every mayor and mayoress has been very good to the tournament. I think that the most substantial change was bringing the event to the Caja M\u00e1gica. There\u2019s only one <\/span>other <\/span>place in the world, Australia, with three stadiums with roofs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- How many people might the Mutua Madrid Open bring to Madrid as part of the tournament? Because we\u2019re talking about 96 players per singles draw, but each player brings their team, some of which are big\u2026<\/b>
\nA.- We still don\u2019t know. But it is true that today players travel with many more people. When I started on the tour you\u2019d travel with your coach at the most, very few players travelled with a fitness coach because they couldn\u2019t afford it. Now they are with a fitness coach, a physio, mum, dad, psychologist, etc. It\u2019s difficult to find accommodation for so many people. It\u2019s not easy even for a tournament like this. I think we\u2019ll have to produce double the previsions we\u2019ve had in previous years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- The ATP, the WTA, the sponsors, the official bodies, the players, the fans, etc. all play a role in this tournament. Is it difficult as director to maintain a balance that everyone can agree on?<\/b>
\nA.- No. Honestly, those people make it easy. The part I\u2019m most familiar with is dealing with the players. I know many of them personally and that makes things a little easier. We\u2019re very grateful to the City Council for everything. All the mayors and mayoresses there have been. It started with \u00c1lvarez del Manzano, but there have been many in the city from different groups and parties and we\u2019ve always felt supported by them. And we\u2019ve had, and have, great sponsors. We mustn\u2019t forget that the combination of the fans and the private companies is what allowed us to get to where we are today. Everyone who has joined us has stayed; Mutua Madrile\u00f1a, Cosentino, Rolex, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mutua is a great product, what we offer to sponsors is something different to the rest of the tournaments on tour. We establish a relationship that is more than purely commercial, to the point that they become friends, not just paying for a box, a sponsor, bringing their clients… I think we\u2019ve managed to create a friendship. And a very special product where everyone is happy, sponsors, players, fans…<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- What does the tournament do to get a sense of the fans\u2019 needs?<\/b>
\nA.- The spectators are fundamental for us. We owe everything to the fans and we try to give them the best service in every way, as well as offering them the best tennis in the world. We want them to have the chance to have a family day out here and have things other than tennis. You come as a spectator, watch matches and have a look around, there are shops, good catering… I think tennis tournaments can\u2019t survive on the game alone. There must be other attractions around. People come here with their children, older people who can\u2019t watch the tennis for eight hours and need somewhere to rest. We have concerts… I think the concept of the Mutua Madrid Open is different and they try to replicate it elsewhere. We want the spectator to have the best experience possible. The tournament office is open all year, thinking about how we can improve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- Was it difficult to go up a floor at the Mutua? That is, from the locker room, which is downstairs, to the office on the first floor.<\/b>
\nA.- In a way it was the most radical change I\u2019ve experienced. From being on my own, thinking about practice, taking care of my own matches, my own life, I\u2019ve gone to working with other people, sharing ideas, relying on things I can\u2019t control, learning so many new things I had no idea about… But I was lucky because the people here are incredible and they have treated me very well from the start and they make a lot of things easier. Then every department has a head. The work is very well distributed and they make my work easy. I\u2019m not the boss here, not even close. I\u2019m just another member of staff who is here to learn. And that also makes you realise what goes into a tournament like this. Things you don\u2019t see as a player maybe because of selfishness, other times through ignorance, or simply because you\u2019re not thinking about a lot of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- What sort of things do players request when they arrive at tournaments?<\/b>
\nA.- We tennis players are very demanding. It\u2019s true that the standards at this tournament are very high. There are three or four fundamental things here: the accommodation, that the transport is quick, the food, and the condition of the courts. At the end of the day, as a player you want to play on a good court, to be able to eat and rest well, and for the trip from the hotel you\u2019re staying in to the club not to be too long.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- In that regard, is there any difference between the men and women?<\/b>
\nA.- None. And, as it should be, the tournament is treated equally. There is no difference in any way. I think some years a little more has even been paid. They share the same areas, apart from the locker room. There are no differences at all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- Are there any anecdotes you can tell us about day to day goings on at the tournament?<\/b>
\nA.- There are many anecdotes. It\u2019s a long tournament, a lot of things happen, some are unexpected. Like you get up one day and you have a message that your best player is ill and won\u2019t be playing, for example. We work hard to make everything perfect, so that the players have the best experience possible, so that the sponsors are happy. But there are things you cannot control, so things happen. Many unexpected things come up… But <\/span>we <\/span>have the help of the ATP and WTA, who have people that have been working in this field their whole lives and they have quick solutions for these things. In this regard, I think we\u2019re well covered and prepared.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- Will you feel at all nostalgic when you see other players taking to the court on your last year on tour?<\/b>
\nA.- The same as other years. I would have liked to play here one last time, but also at the time when I decided to accept the challenge of being director, I was aware that I would never play this tournament again, because you cannot be the director of the tournament and play in it. It\u2019s true that every year I get the urge to play, but I can handle it, there\u2019s just a longing to play here. But I\u2019ll also feel that in ten years, because it never leaves you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- In the early years, Feliciano L\u00f3pez was one of those players that always had the potential to cause an upset. What are your memories of that time?<\/b>
\nA.- There\u2019s one match that stayed with me, that really tough one against Agassi. Manolo gave me an invitation to play and I\u2019ll always be grateful for that. At the time I was a young boy, wanting to be a professional, but my ranking wasn\u2019t high enough to make it into the main draw. And Manolo, who has always been a person who really believed in me, gave me an invite. Imagine, a Masters 1000 in Madrid, the city where I lived and at that point of my career. It was then I said, \u201cwow, I really can play against the best players in the world\u201d. And I remember that match particularly well, because despite losing it, it made me realise that I could compete with the best. It was a real moment, a turning point in my career. Madrid, with the packed stands shouting my name, that gave me a lot of strength.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- Do you get time to watch much tennis?<\/b>
\nA.- In general, no, I don\u2019t watch much tennis, but I do enjoy watching certain players or matches. For example, I normally watch Rafa\u2019s biggest matches. Now, I also follow Carlitos Alcaraz. And Tsitsipas, who I like and have a good relationship with, we\u2019ve played doubles together. There aren\u2019t so many players today that I like enough to want to watch on television, because of the style of play. Tennis changes through the years. It\u2019s a little different to what it was before, but there are certain players that I like and I think are worth watching.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.- One last question, the Big 3, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, would you say there\u2019s one characteristic they have in common?<\/b>
\nA.- That they\u2019re all competitive animals, each with their own style.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Feliciano L\u00f3pez is embarking on his fourth edition \u2014 and fifth year, if you include 2020, when the pandemic forced the event\u2019s cancellation \u2014 at the helm of the Mutua Madrid Open. It is a very special year in many ways. To him, personally, because it will be the year he says goodbye to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":82370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[824,837],"tags":[835,828,831],"class_list":["post-82372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias-mutua-en","category-noticias-tenis-en","tag-2023-es-en","tag-feliciano-lopez-en-2","tag-mutua-madrid-open-en-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82372"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82374,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82372\/revisions\/82374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}