Barclays Dubai Championship has come a long way

Dubai: Way back in 1993, the first-ever international tennis tournament was played at a make-shift Dubai Tennis Stadium. Since then, the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships have come a long way in being one of the most popular tournaments on the Tour both for spectators and players alike.

Salah Tahlak was a core member of the organisational team in those early days and following the experience he gained along the way, Tahlak was elevated as the tournament director  a role that he has been fulfilling to near- perfection over the years. Besides this, Tahlak is a member on the prestigious Dubai Sports Council. He shares his views on the success of this popular sporting event:

Gulf News: One more fantastic week of tennis, one more wonderful winner and one more to go next week. Can you take us through the years ...

Salah Tahlak: I remember the time when the ATP cut-off used to be 80 or 90 when we first got started here. No one even knew who our first winner Karol Novacek was. And now for the past five or six years, we've had all the top-10 or at least five from the top-10 and another five or six from the top-20 [playing in Dubai].

What does this indicate?

This really is a good statement for the tournament. It's a success story. All these top players are fighting and making sure that Dubai is part of their calendar each year. Of course we are both happy and proud to have both our events upgraded as 500- point tournaments on the ATP and WTA Tours. This also gives us more responsibility and status as a win here can take a player from No 10 to No 7 in one single outing.

What have been the positives you have accumulated over the years?

The prize money for both the tournaments is equal. We were the first ones to do this, in fact, even before they did it at Wimbledon.

A move like this gave us a better leverage on the world stage. There are top players who pitch in for us. Someone like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is always keen to return here every year. This too is an added advantage. They all like this event and they think this is the tournament to be at each year. I think it's good that all these players come and talk positive about this tournament.

And why do you think the players do this?

I think this positive vibe is because Dubai has done a lot of things right and at the same time done things differently as well. Our hospitality does not have an end to it. We always try to accommodate every single player and their requests.

Sometime we are really in trouble with the hotels. Like this year, we chose the Grand Hyatt, Park Hyatt and Hyatt Regency as the official hotels. But we realised we needed more rooms to accommodate the guests and we went back to the good old Al Bustan Rotana and they were more- than-willing to assist.

There are a lot of other smaller things that count towards this image, doesn't it?

Yes, we make sure we pay attention to the smaller and finer aspects of organising this tournament. The practice courts are always available. The practice balls that we give to the players are also more than those given at any other tournament. The staff here is very friendly, whether it is our ushers or the ones helping the players. Everyone has been so fantastic always. They make the tournament tick.

It is these small things that give our tournament a special touch, and in fact, we would like to believe that it is these small things that give us the edge over the others.

And the specialised areas as well?

Yes, food is another area where we are always innovating. Not only is it healthy food, but we also ensure we do not run out of food for the players and the guests. The players' party too is something that they love to attend. We do not force anyone to make an appearance. It is such an easy and carefree atmosphere and they all enjoy being there.

A word about the sponsors?

Yes, the sponsors are the best of the lot. They are not too demanding. In fact, the leverage of sponsors has gone up significantly. And the players on their part are willing to lend a helping hand and help take this event to another level and give the sponsors a return on their investments. Lipton, Pocari Sweat and USA Today are the new ones in addition to our old partners. GN Broadcasting has set up a special stall outside the court and Dubai Sports Channel has a live studio on Centre Court with a live one-hour programme before the start of the matches, hosted by Lebanese presenter Raya Remmal.

What are the other things that help?

A lot of players do come on and off during the course of the year. It's very encouraging to hear that someone like Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic want to make Dubai their home. It's all so positive for us, for the event and for Dubai as a whole. A person like Federer considers Dubai his second home. I think it's great to have the world's best player saying this as everyone knows Federer is like an ambassador for the sport. We really like to be associated with these kind of things that portray a positive image of Dubai.

What's special and new this year?

For the first time, Dubai Sports Channel has a dedicated HD channel for the coverage. This means the popularity of this sport is growing, maybe even more than football. Football is our national sport, but in tennis, we have more fans attending than in football. I am really happy about this. Additionally, this event is more international. We get a lot of people travelling from other countries for this tournament. There are people who come in from neighbouring countries only for these two weeks.