New ASB Classic tournament director Nicolas Lamperin is promising to deliver world-class fields to Auckland after a two-year absence of the ATP and WTA tournaments due to the Covid-19 enforced cancellations.
The tournaments have officially been launched in Auckland this morning.
The Frenchman takes over from Karl Budge, who wasat the helm of the Auckland tournaments from 2013 to the last event in 2020. Budge recommended Lamperin to the role, having known him for many years with Lamperin an established player agent.
Lamperin has moved from his home in Dubai to Auckland, with his wife and three children to join him later this year. He has worked as an associate tournament director at the Croatia Open ATP event and has had roles at IMG, Lagardere and Starwing Sports. He has been a player agent for the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Marion Bartoli and is still the agent for Gael Monfils, who by virtue is a likely target.
New ASB Classic tournament director Nicolas Lamperin. Photo Jed Bradley
Speaking to NZME's Tennis Talk podcast, Lamperin says he hasn't yet had a conversation with Monfils, who has made the semifinals in Auckland before.
"Gael and I go back a very long way and he was best man at my wedding a few years ago," Lamperin said. "To be perfectly honest, we haven't discussed the schedule yet about next year. He knows he's, of course, welcome to come to play. But the last thing I want is for him to come as a favour to me because I'm the tournament director.
"I would want to make sure it fits with his schedule and that he's 100 per cent happy with the decision. So we'll speak about it. But probably later on during the year."
Lamperin has hit the ground running and has received strong interest from several high-profile players. He was recently at Roland Garros to start the conversations with players and agents, with Danish player Holger Rune, a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, a possibility.
Rune signed a three-year deal to play in Auckland when given a wildcard in 2020, but whether that is now null and void as a result of the pandemic is up for discussion.
Lamperin acknowledges it's challenging securing the top men's players for a tournament the week before the Australian Open and after most of them have played in the ATP Cup, but he says he's already had discussions with Rune's agent.
"He was struggling to break into the top 100 last year. Then he's had a stellar start to the season, winning in Munich and then reaching the quarters in Paris. I actually met with his agent last week in Paris. He happens to be a very big supporter of the ASB classic. So let's see, let's see if we can make it happen," Lamperin said.
Norway's Casper Ruud plays a shot against Denmark's Holger Rune during their quarterfinal match at the French Open. Photo / AP
With less than six months before the women's Classic gets underway on January 2, Lamperin is in catch-up mode. Previous tournament director Budge typically had more than half his signings locked in by now. But in his first year, Budge wasn't appointed until after the US Open.
Lamperin, who will head to Wimbledon and the US Open to continue his recruitment drive, is optimistic he will assemble classy fields.
"It's always a challenge to put a stellar field together. Two years is very long time in sports. Players that have been used to work on the schedule and not plan on coming to Auckland anymore. So, the first thing we have to do is to educate the player about the fact that the tournament is back on the calendar, and that they should definitely consider it. We are facing competition as well. In week one, we have a WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane and week two we are competing with Adelaide."
Lamperin spent a year in Auckland in 2001 as a student and has been to the tournament a number of times over the years as a player agent.
He believes his contacts and relationships with other agents puts him in a good position when it comes to player recruitment.
"I want to believe that I have a very good relationship with most agents on the tour, which of course it's going to help me when I speak to them and discuss the participation of their players and also, I understand how agents think when it comes to do a deal for tournaments so of course I'm going to use that experience to make sure we are able to attract the best talent for the tournament."
Ultimately money talks so has Lamperin secured enough to be able to sign a number of high-profile players?
"I mean, I can't complain. The feedback that we've had from sponsors so far has been very, very positive. The budget is there we are in a position to go in the market and make some substantial offers. So I think we have all we need to build a very good field for next year."
In recent years the women's ASB Classic has attracted the stronger fields with household names such as Serena and Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic gracing centre court. However, Lamperin thinks the state of the women's game means assembling the women's field is going to be most challenging.
"Only because the top 10 is moving a lot. There's a lot of girls coming in and girls going out of the top 10. We don't want to go too early and need to see exactly how the top 10 is going to be in the next few months. Then I think once we have a better idea, we'll make a formal offer."
ASB has re-signed as title sponsor for the tournaments for the next three years and in a change, the tournaments will be delivered jointly by ATP licence holder Tennis Auckland and WTA licence holder Tennis New Zealand.
