Revealed: Extravagantly expensive tickets prices affecting attendances at Miami Open

Shahida Jacobs 30 Mar 2019 7:26 PM

Thousands of tickets remain unsold for Sunday’s Miami Open final between Roger Federer and John Isner, with exorbitant ticket prices being blamed for the vast swathes of empty seats that have been in evidence in the Hard Rock Stadium court in recent days.

Tickets for the Federer v Isner showdown are on sale for eye-watering amounts of money, with a pair of top price tickets in the lower bowl for Sunday’s final costing $4,528 if you fancy watching two veterans of the tour battle it out for one of the biggest titles in tennis.

The empty seats have been a major headache for tournament organisers and ticket prices compare unfavourably to events such as the ATP World Tour Finals in London, where the cheapest seats are available for £17 or around $19.

Moving the event from the Crandon Park base to the make-shift venue inside the Miami Dolphins NFL stadium was a contentious move, with players often saluting the surface at the Florida venue as one of the best in the game and top players like Andy Murray using the courts for off-season practice.

Yet Federer is eager to embrace the change of venue, as he offered up these comments to the Tennis Channel: “This venue is completely different to what we have been used to and I don’t know where to start trying to describe how different it is.

“It was always windy and open where we were before, but that wind has gone inside this stadium and suddenly we have so much more shade.

“It was really tight on space at Crandon Park, but that is not a problem here. All of a sudden, we have this amazing amount of space, so we are not complaining. This is all good.

“People were saying this court was very slow, but I’m not sure. The ball does not fly and bounce as much as Indian Wells, but we are enjoying it here.”

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