“The players start to master much better UTS and the format” – Patrick Mouratoglou reflects on UTS Frankfurt
UTS Founder and Chairman Patrick Mouratoglou delivers his takeaways after UTS Frankfurt 2024, one of the most spectacular ever, for several reasons!
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Patrick, How would you assess the 2024 UTS Frankfurt overall?
Patrick Mouratoglou: Every time there is a UTS, it’s even better than the previous one. But it’s true. I think we controlled very well everything we could control, and the rest that we could not control – I mean : the competition – happened, in the best possible way. The level of the matches, the hot shots, the drama during the matches, the crazy suspense, the so many sudden deaths, an incredible winner. Everything went just like a dream. I think when everything’s aligned, a dream can happen.
A few new faces at UTS Frankfurt this year : Kokkinakis, Musetti… Humbert and Shapovalov who had played only in New York. Did that bring some kind of fresh air to the event?
Patrick Mouratoglou: It’s always great to have new players. Especially good players, in terms of the game, but also the personality.
I think we controlled very well everything we could control, and the rest that we could not control, happened, in the best possible way
Patrick Mouratoglou
Plus there was on top that suspense about who’s going to qualify for the Grand Final and they had to perform. So, I think the level and the engagement of the players was super, super high, that’s what I felt during these three days. That produced incredible tennis and incredible drama, because when you want something so much, you have moments of stress in matches and your opponent can catch up with you. All of this happened, so it was amazing really.
What’s your explanation of why there were so many sudden deaths?
Patrick Mouratoglou: Probably because of this format, that is extremely fast, extremely difficult in terms of physical energy and mental energy. Why? Because you have so little mental energy. You don’t have time to calm down, because you have to play again. So, when you are not in a good phase mentally, it’s very difficult to get rid of it. So it consumes you, it keeps consuming you, so you can completely miss a quarter.
Also, the momentum switches so fast. This is for three reasons. First of all, the physicality of the game. A lot of guys were really struggling physically. A lot of them told me, and it was obvious. Sometimes they play great in the first quarter, then they get tired and boom, they drop the second. So, it levels up a lot.
This format is extremely fast, and difficult in terms of physical and mental energy
Patrick Mouratoglou
Second, the mental. As I just said, it consumes a lot mentally, because it’s so fast and you have very little time to reset. Then you can also be losing a lot of points in a row. That’s also why during a quarter, a guy leads for six, seven, eight points, but then all of a sudden the other guy is winning, because it happens so fast. The other thing is true too, you hit one or two good shots, you feel unbelievable, and you don’t have time to think, which is good in this situation. Then you can hit so many winners in a row.
I think also the bonus card makes such a huge difference when the level is so close. Ugo (Humbert) said it so well during an interview after the first quarter against (Lorenzo) Musetti. He said, ‘We are so close in terms of level in this quarter, it’s just who’s going to win the bonus point’. And he was right. So that’s why it’s very imprecise, and the logic is it ends up with a sudden death.
It seemed that taking risks was really rewarded this UTS, particularly with Ben Shelton’s style of play and the fact that he won the tournament?
Patrick Mouratoglou: I think that the players start to master much better UTS and the format and what it is all about. So they understand that it’s important to take the bonus card when they are in a good phase, when they are feeling well. They have a much higher chance of making it, and then they are bold. Sometimes the wall is behind you, and you go for it, and it works.
So I think that’s the thing, they start to understand what it’s really about. When they are in a good phase, they know how crucial it can be to make that point, so they go full and take that risk. We’re talking about measured risk, because for Struff to go for a first serve, or Shelton to go for a first serve, it’s not crazy. They have such a feel on the serve, it makes sense. They hit so many aces, so even if it’s not an ace, it’s probably going to be a serve winner. So it makes sense.
But you’re right, they took much more risk, and I think they are going to continue to play like that because look at the guys who were in the final. Not pushers, huh? It’s guys who are super aggressive and even sometimes too aggressive. They need to manage that. But in the big moments, you need to rely on your game, and your game is to go for it.
the players start to master much better the UTS format and what it is all about
Patrick Mouratoglou
That’s what drives it?
Patrick Mouratoglou: Oh yeah, 100 percent. You know, there is something in rugby where a team gets a bonus when they score a lot, the “offensive bonus”. What’s the idea about that? It’s to have matches with a lot of offense. When you have a lot of offense, a lot of defense, it’s fun. If people are more neutral then it’s not great tennis.
So we did everything we could to encourage the players to go for their shots, be aggressive and create good games.
Two lefties in the final, and a lot of one-handed backhands too. Does that mean anything?
Patrick Mouratoglou: It just means that we choose the players in UTS. Of course we want great players, but we want great game, great style, great emotion. To make a good movie, you need good actors. So yes. We love one-handed backhands, everybody loves one-handed backhands. We love lefties, because they create so much game, and we love characters, because they connect with the crowd.
One of the big stories last week was tickets in Nimes being sold so fast. Why do you think that is?
Patrick Mouratoglou: I think there are a few reasons why the Bastide Medical UTS Nimes is selling so fast. I think first of all, UTS is getting more and more known by people. People appreciate this format more and more, so we can see event after event, we’re selling more and more tickets, and earlier. In Nimes, that is one thing.
Second, I think Bastide Medical is really a very important company in the region, very famous. The city of Nimes is also helping. I think to play in such an incredible place, the Arenes de Nimes, which is probably one of the most impressive places in the world to play a tennis match in, will be something special. We never see tennis in such arenas. So I think to combine the future of a sport and something so ancestral, so old, so impressive, that’s also the reason why.
