Nicolas Lamperin is the new Tournament Director for the ASB Classic in Auckland, and he gave an interview ahead of the event.
Lamperin has long held positions in the tennis sphere, most recently serving as an agent for Gael Monfils, which he still is. He's also a tournament director for the tournament in Auckland now, and his tournament is a tournament that kicks off the new season and typically draws a lot of well-known athletes.
This year is no exception, as we'll see players like Coco Gauff, Emma Raducanu, and Casper Ruud, among others, all being there. Some were easier to get than others, explained Lamperin in the example of Ruud and Raducanu.
When talking about how difficult it was to convince some of the players, Lamperin admitted that Ruud was one of the easiest players, because of his preference to play ATP 250 tournaments.
"One of the easiest was Casper Ruud. You would have thought it would have been more difficult because of his ranking, but he’s the kind of guy who likes to play a lot of ATP 250 tournaments and doesn’t mind playing the week before a grand slam."
On the other hand, Lamperin revealed that it was quite difficult for the tournament organizers to convince Emma Raducanu. The British star is one of the most popular tennis players on the WTA Tour, and to convince her to participate in a tournament is difficult, probably not just verbally, but also financially.
"I guess it was more challenging with Emma Raducanu. We wanted to wait to see what happened after the US Open. On both sides there was interest, she was also keen to hear about what was happening with the United Cup, so it took longer to agree. But in the end we were on the same page."
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