E-Boks Sony Ericsson Open 2010
Farum arena, Stavnsholtvej 41, 3520 Farum; 31 July – 08 August; Day tickets 50 – 500 kroner, Afternoon tickets 100 – 400 kroner; Times vary;
www.e-bokssonyericssonopen.dk
For some, women’s tennis is an acquired taste - a taste
generally acquired by male fans in their late teen years, that continues right through into dirty-old-man-dom. But even for female fans, and the less lecherously-inclined male ones, there is plenty to entertain at this year’s inaugural WTA tournament.
This is the first year the tournament has had full WTA status, meaning it’s in the big league - finally putting Denmark on the professional circuit. What does that mean for the 99 percent of us fair-weather fans? Well in Women’s tennis you have the Premier tournaments which include Grand Slams like Wimbledon, and then in the ‘division’ below that are the 31 International tournaments – which now include this one. Prize money totals 220,000 kroner, making these the staple tournaments of up-and-coming players who have yet to establish themselves as regular trophy hunters.
That said, world number four Caroline Wozniacki will be making an appearance, and is the clear favourite. Although much maligned for her ‘unrealistic’ ranking - due entirely to the fact she plays regularly in smaller tournaments like this one - she is nevertheless head and shoulders above the rest of the field. Her last tournament at the daddy of them all – Wimbledon – back in June was disappointing and showed up her overblown ranking well, but nevertheless saw her progress to the fourth round. Combined with a month’s worth of hard-court preparation ahead of the US tour, she should walk it, and with a home crowd you can bet the odds are short-to-pointless.
Conditions are indoors and on a hard-court surface, with a draw of just 32 players in the singles (and 16 pairs in the doubles matches). But with true Wimbledon-style patriotic fervour, there is already a designated ‘Wozniacki corner’ in the stadium – though they are slightly missing the point, since as any Brit knows, ‘Murray Mount’ (neé Henman Hill) is really all about backing the underdog.
A useful tip for your best bet of seeing some quality tennis is doubles matches, as they are a far more exciting and hugely undervalued aspect of the game – especially on hard surfaces where the ball just won’t die. Close, fast-fire rallies at the net are typical of doubles, and benefit the younger, quick-witted players like we’ll see here.
Events kick off with the official draw on Saturday where kids can knock around with soft balls (18:15 - 19:15), before celebrities will attempt to return serves from the racquet of Wozniacki herself (19:20 -19:40). Sunday is devoted to further qualification activity, and then Monday will see the start of tournament in anger.
Crown Prince Frederik will be there to see Wozniacki’s first match on Tuesday night, among the expected 25,000 fans expected to attend. Meanwhile for the sofa crowd TV2 will be providing full coverage for the entirety of the tournament, and expect audiences of up to 2.5 million viewers, marking this as a pretty large sporting event, and the first of many to come. For tickets at prices like these, the E-Boks Open offers a great opportunity to be a part of the next big thing in Danish sport.
Expect big crowds at any match with Malou Ejdesgaard or Mai Grage playing, since they comprise the remainder of the Danish contingent, and whilst there may be no new Russian bombshells at this showing, Anna Chakvetadze, Corinna Dentoni and Ana Bogdan are definitely the most ... erm ... photogenic.
Peter Sims-The Copenhagen Post