Barclays event can only get better, says official

London: The year-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals can only get better, if one is to consider the fantastic response to this event from all concerned, according to one of the top officials connected with its organisation.

“The upside for this tournament is huge. The players love it, the spectators have had a terrific time so far and everyone has been really excited about it,” John Beddington of Beddington Spots Management Limited told Gulf News on the sidelines of this event being held at the impressive O2 Arena here.

With more than 40 years experience in the field, Beddington is the tennis consultant for title sponsors Barclays. In his hey-days Beddington was the tournament director for this very tournament hosting it in Barcelona, Boston, Melbourne, Stockholm and Houston between1972 to 1976.

“And then it was moved to Madison Square Garden in an attempt to attract new markets,” Beddington remarked.

However, after four decades since the start of this competition, Beddington knows that this tournament has made an aggressive start. Barclays pulled off a coup – rumoured to be around $30 million over the five years that they get to host it at the O2 Arena here. It is also the first time that the ATP is acting as promoter of this competition.

Given the tennis base and fidelity of fans in Great Britain, there were other major sponsors who were also chasing the deal of staging the season-ending finale for men’s tennis.

“But Barclays got to the finish line first,” Beddington beamed.

Prior to coming to London, the year-end tournament was staged in Shanghai. “This sponsorship is a major commitment to the sport from Barclays, and to think that this year is only the start…it can only get better,” he said.

Public response to this week-long tournament has been huge with every single ticket being sold out way ahead of time.

“I’ve run some of the top tennis events in the world and for sure I know that this event has been more successful than anyone could have anticipated ahead of time,” Beddington stated.

Attendance figures since the start on Sunday have been high and authorities are expecting this competition to be the most watched by the end of the week.

As part of its global outreach strategy, Barclays has been sponsoring the annual Dubai Tennis Championships for the past two years now.