Roger Federer will make his Turkey debut as the first TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open takes place next week. Federer announced his clay court season schedule back in February with Turkey being the surprise inclusion. It marks the beginning of a busy month for Federer who will take part in three tournaments in three consecutive weeks. The Swiss man will feature in the Madrid Masters and the Rome Masters in the two weeks following the Istanbul open. Federer will then have a two week brake before the start of the French Open at Rolland Garros.
The Istanbul Open is a new tournament for the 2015 season. The event will take place at the Koza World of Sports facility which claims to be the world’s largest tennis academy. The facilities are spectacular with a 7,500 capacity stadium which includes a retractable roof. Two other seated courts bring the total capacity to 9,500.
The tournament will be held from the 27th of April to the 3rd of May with some other well-known faces taking part. World #11 Grigor Dimitrov is present as well as World #23 Pablo Cuevas. But there’s no denying that World #2 Federer is the star attraction. Ticket sales soared past the 30,000 mark when it was announced Federer was to play in Turkey and that is an excellent sign for the tournaments organizers.
If rumours are to be believed, the organizers are paying Federer an unbelievably high appearance fee. (There are no official numbers because appearance fees are not always public knowledge.) Though this might seem controversial it is also understandable. A new tournament such as the Istanbul Open needs a big name player to help boost awareness of the event and who better than the most coveted player of all time, Roger Federer? Yes, it will be argued that the Swiss man is only taking part because of the money involved but that is a rather more delicate topic.
Nonetheless it is exciting to see Federer take some bold new directions. Just last winter Federer took his first trip to India and it is suspected the 17 time Grand Slam champion is trying his hand at more exotic venues before he retires. If you factor in the Monte Carlo Masters then Federer will have taken part in four events in the six weeks prior to the French Open. The busy schedule is sure to have Federer fans frothing at the mouth. It could also prove great preparation for the forthcoming French Open
Federer has notoriously struggled at Roland Garros (by his lofty standards), only winning there once back in 2009. But with Nadal out of sorts it could be a chance for Federer. He may have been dumped out by Gael Monfils back in Monte Carlo but if Federer can find some form he may be in with a shout. Novak Djokovic would be near impossible to beat with the form he is in however if Fed could avoid Nole in the draw then a victory on the historic red courts of France would certainly be possible. Also, remember that Federer was the one who took out a seemingly unbeatable Djokovic at Roland Garros back in 2011.
Back in the present, Federer will be itching to claim victory in Turkey which would help cement his world ranking place heading into the busiest section of the season in terms of Grand Slams. It would also prove a much -eeded win should Federer achieve it. His last victory came back on the first of March at the Dubai Duty-Free Championships. It should be an intriguing tournament in Istanbul with much to look forward to with Federer set for his Turkey debut and, of course, the fantastic facilities that await.
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