Dubai: As the Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, Colm McLoughlin has his hands full with a load of responsibilities. But, the unassuming Irishman – who came here to set up the retail operation at the Dubai International Airport way back in 1983 – has pursued his passion for sport while delivering a truly world-class tennis event through two weeks of the annual Dubai Tennis Championships.
In 2015, the ATP and the WTA indicated that the value of the TV coverage for the Dubai stood at an astounding $803 million (Dh2.95 billion). After adding the women’s tournament in 2000, Dubai Duty Free became a global sponsor of the WTA with two former world number ones - Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic - as their brand ambassadors. As usual there is a strong entry this year too. From an initial four of the top ten men - Roger Federer withdrew due to his knee surgery – to a four of the top ten in the women’s – this year will once again witness a true feast of tennis. Defending champion Simona Halep and former champion Petra Kvitova will get the fortnight of tennis going.
From organizing the first tournament with temporary scaffolding seating to one of the most popular venues on the tour, the Dubai Tennis Championships has truly established itself as among the best in the sport, as McLoughlin tells Gulf News:
GULF NEWS: Could go back in time and trace the start of the tennis tournament in Dubai?
COLM MCLOUGHLIN: We started the tennis 24 years back with a men’s tournament. It all began when Jeff Chapman came to us to enquire if we would put up an exhibition tennis match. Jeff was an Australian who used to make television programmes and sell these to various television channels around the world. I went to the ATP’s international office in Australia and by the time we had spoken we had managed to buy a week on the ATP Tour. That time it was a Series 250 tournament. We still have that tournament and we rent it out. It is still being held right now as the Sophia Open.
Q. What were the early years like, considering that you and your team had never before staged something like this?
A. I remember being very excited when we held the tournament for the first time because then World No. 8 Karel Novacek was the winner. Karel was a big name in tennis that time and it was quite a prestige to have him as our first-ever champion. Over the years our operation at Dubai Duty Free has grown, and along with it the tournament too has evolved. Today we have our tournament as one of the best 500 Series event.
Q. Have you been pleased with the evolution of the event over the years?
A. Definitely. These championships have grown over the years. We are now one of the Premier 500 Series in the world on the men’s tour. We’ve had 17 world number ones participating along the way. We’ve had a couple of super stars in Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who among themselves have won the tournament a record eleven times. We have had several top ten players over the years. We think that our tennis has been very successful because it has worked well for us and Dubai from the beginning.
Q. Going back to the objectives what sort of a report card would you table?
A. We recognized very early on at Dubai Duty Free that sport is a good thing to sponsor. At the back of our mind we wanted to promote Dubai. Starting from those early days, Dubai is today recognized as the sports capital of the Middle East. Our original objective was to get good players to play, and I think we have surpassed that in a long way. Last year we were informed by the ATP that the value this tournament has brought to Dubai was in excess of $800 million and $716 million a year before. A couple of years back we decided to appoint two lady ambassadors (Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic) on the WTA tour. There is no doubt that this tournament had more than fulfilled its objectives.
Q. What do you think such a tournament has brought to Dubai?
A. Actually, so many other things have happened due to the tennis. First, because we had a tennis tournament we built a stadium. Because we built a tennis stadium we built an Irish Village. Because of the tennis stadium we put up the Century Village. Because of all that activity, we then built a 292-room hotel. On the courts, many people have experienced introduction to tennis locally. We have had thousands of ball-kids who have surely grown to love tennis. We have given wild cards to Arab players. Our referee for this year is Hani Khafief who started as a linesman many years ago. He has been trained to take over this position.
Q. How can you get this tournament to evolve further?
A. We just want our tournament to continue to be successful. Ten times in the last eleven years, the players have voted our men’s tournament as the best in the world. Then the women have also voted for this tournament as the best for 2015 in the Premier 5 category. You will recollect the famous Andre Agassi vs Roger Federer match on top of the Burj Al Arab. We were told that the event was watched by more than half the world and at the same time that was the biggest promo for tennis ever. We will continue to try and entice good players to come and play here. This year Federer is injured and Andy Murray wanted to be alongside his wife during the birth of their daughter. After each tournament we have a meeting and try and criticize ourselves. We work on the mistakes we’ve made and we try to do better each year.
Q. What about this year’s event?
A. All the direct entries in the men’s tournament are in the top 55 and all the direct entries for the ladies tournament are in the top 29. Our ticket sales are doing very well. We have sold many more tickets than we did last year. Apart from the tennis and the players, so many people come there because it has such a carnival atmosphere. They have the Irish Village and the facilities of our Jumeirah Creekside Hotel. We have the Century Village and a new Greek restaurant this year.
Q. What are ambitions for the future?
A. Our sole ambition is to just keep being voted by the players as the best tournaments in the world. I want to see the stadium full and to keep the interest among the people. This event is about the value from the publicity that puts Dubai and Dubai Duty Free in the international spotlight even more. We are committed to doing it.
Q. Do you feel DDF can play a bigger role in bridging the gap between international tennis and local tennis in such a way that it would benefit the development of the sport in the UAE?
A. We have always tried to have a good cooperation with Tennis Emirates. We do help sponsor Tennis Emirates in their youth sponsorship. Led by Abdul Rahman Falaknaz and Sarah Baker, Tennis Emirates are trying very hard by being very active. We try and facilitate them as much as we can. We support them as much as we can. Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum has been the President of Tennis Emirates for the past few years now and he supports our tournament. We do clinics and stuff like that during the tournament. We invite school children to come during the early days and watch the tennis. And in the future if we have a brainwave of doing something extra then we will certainly do it. We will continue to do our best.
