Patrick Mouratoglou gives a big hint where UTS Grand Final will be staged in 2024
Britain’s Jack Draper won the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in front of a sell-out crowd of 6,000 fans in London on Sunday and now tournament organiser Patrick Mouratoglou has given a big hint where the event will be staged next year.
An eight-man event featuring Draper, Holger Rune, Adrey Rublev, Gael Monfils, Diego Schwartzman, Gael Monfils, Benoit Paire, Casper Ruud and Alexander Bublik captured the imagination of the London crowds at the ExCel Arena.
The brash and loud brand of tennis featured four quarters of eight minutes and stirred an atmosphere that is the polar opposite of the sedate surroundings of a match at Wimbledon in London next summer.
Yet the runaway success of the event in the English capital appears to have inspired Mourtoglou to start preparing for the return of the event a year from now.
“I think we’ve had an incredible three days,” declared the coach who has worked with some of the top names in tennis.
“The crowd has been unbelievable; it’s been packed and there has been so much energy – everyone feels it, not just us as organisers but the players too. That connection between the crowd and the players is one of the keys to UTS and it has worked incredibly well here.
“We’ve had great feedback from business, from TV, from media and I’m so happy with that. That’s what we do this for, to show tennis in a different way and hopefully bring a lot of new fans on board.”
READ MORE: Jack Draper’s staggering prize money revealed as he wins UTS Grand Final in London
When asked whether he intends to bring the event back to London in 2024 he replied: “I think it was a great move to come here. I would love to come back to London. I love the city but more than anything, everybody is happy to be here and the atmosphere is great and I think it could get bigger and bigger here.”
The event was certainly well received by the sell-out crowds, with champion Jack Draper collecting a whopping $546,800 for winning his five quick-fire matches.
“It’s been an amazing weekend,” said Draper. “To get a chance to play in front of my home fans was fantastic and it’s great to come out with the trophy.
“The UTS rules took some getting used to, but I feel like we had some high-level matches over the weekend and the fans seemed to enjoy it.
“I’m so happy I’ve been able to play the way I can, and hopefully bring that into next year. We both brought the best out of each other there. It’s not easy with this format – it’s very difficult to stay consistent and play each point as it comes.”
“I have to thank Patrick Mouratoglou and the UTS guys for giving me a wildcard here and I have loved being a part of it.”
Exhibition tennis is an interesting talking point, as players often complain that the ATP Tour puts too much of a workload on them.
Yet the prize money on offer at an event like UTS is tough to turn down and Draper has to draw inspiration from his win as he plots a breakthrough into the top 20 of the ATP rankings for the first time in 2024.
