The Queen’s Club Gets The Trophy For ATP Best Tournament Of The Year

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Tournament director Stephen Farrow and the Fever-Tree Championships on Saturday were presented with their award for being named the ATP 500 Tournament of the Year in 2018. Former Queen’s Club champion Mark Philippoussis handed over the trophy to Farrow during an on-court ceremony following the singles semifinals.

 

“The ATP-500 category is full of excellent tournaments,” Farrow said when his event was announced as the winner last fall. “So for the players to vote the Fever-Tree Championships as their favorite event is immensely satisfying for everyone involved, particularly our tireless tournament team and the Queen’s Club grounds staff who maintain our magnificent grass courts year after year. I’d like to thank the players for voting for us, and our spectators, sponsors, and media partners for their support.

 

“The Lawn Tennis Association has a vision to open up tennis in Britain to anyone with an interest, from players of all abilities and backgrounds to its millions of fans. As part of that vision, we want to entice people who have never experienced live tennis to come along to our tournaments and see it for themselves in 2019.”

 

“The organizing team at the Fever-Tree Championships do a phenomenal job and I’m delighted to see their efforts recognized in this way by the players,” added ATP president Chris Kermode. “It’s a tournament that never stands still and it has once again set the benchmark within the ATP World Tour 500 category.”

 

If this year is any indication, the Fever-Tree Championships could win it again.

 

Despite buckets of rain earlier in the week, the event got back on schedule without too much trouble and without creating a burden on players. It is once again well-run and well-organized.

 

Stan Wawrinka, who lost in the second round, posted the following on social media on Saturday: “Thank you @QueensTennis for the privilege of playing at one of my favorite tournament on the circuit. You always make it feel so special for me to play there!”

 

As for the on-court results, Andy Murray will play for the doubles title on Sunday in his comeback–and quite a successful one so far–to tennis. He and Feliciano Lopez won TWICE on Saturday to reach the final.

 

Lopez won a total of THREE matches on Saturday and will also play the singles final on Sunday. The 37-year-old Spaniard will become a two-time Queen’s Club champion (also in 2017) if he beats Gilles Simon.

 

Ironically, Lopez could become the first player to win both the singles and doubles titles at this event since none other than Philippoussis in 1997.

 

Which brings us back to the ceremony. The MC joked to Philippoussis: “Felix (as in semifinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime) was minus-4 years old when you won this tournament.”

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.

 

Editor’s Note: The team at 10sBalls gives Queen’s the best tourney of the year every year! It’s the best fan experience. It has the best staff in the world. The players’ needs are first and foremost. Yet they also understand the fans and patrons. Everyone is treated like gold. The stewards are polite and informative. Everything they do is with thought and caring and precision. No detail is ever overlooked. We must applaud a few that stand out. Stephen Farrow. The most present and available tourney Director in the world. David Law, Charlotte Stone, Chris Matthews (someone’s got to schedule / squeeze in all the practice courts) Fraser Russell Of HEAD Concierge. Fran runs a great press room. And ROGER is the world’s best racket stringer. The food is awesome. And you have the world’s finest GRASS and world’s best Pitchers Of Pimm’s. And I saved the FEVER-TREE for last. You make an awesome mixer product. Cheers (LJ)