Mouratoglou on 2023 UTS Grand Final: “I would fall in love with it if I were a fan”
The creator of UTS speaks about the success of the Grand Final and what he hopes to see in the future
Patrick Mouratoglou (UTS)
Jack “The Power” Draper has been crowned champion at the UTS Grand Final – and we are now less than two months from the next UTS event, in Oslo from February 8 to 11, with a field led by Casper “The Ice Man” Ruud and Holger “The Viking” Rune.
After yet another spectacular weekend of high-octane tennis, UTS founder Patrick Mouratoglou spoke to Tennis Majors about the Grand Final, the drama on the court, the champion Draper, plus his plans for the future of the event.
What are your thoughts on this event?
Patrick Mouratoglou: It was a great event. First, the crowd was packed. The ambience was, I think, even better [than previous events]. I feel that people get more and more used to UTS and they are cheering more and more, and we were lucky because we had some incredible matches thanks to the good, very good line-up of players that we had.
Some guys played incredible tennis. I mean, it’s impressive to think that they are in the middle of their preseason and they are able to play already that well. They offered an incredible show and we had everything, we had really fun moments, we had drama and we had also great tennis with guys completely locked in and wanting to win so badly – that’s why we had some drama.
The level was the best I’ve seen at UTS so far, but it was the Grand Final, so in a way, the winners of the events, the guys who had more points than others at UTS, makes sense and they knew there was more on the line, it was supposed to be the world champion of the year.
The level was the best I’ve seen at UTS so far
Patrick Mouratoglou
Jack Draper – we knew he was young and full of promise but nobody had seen him play at this level.
Patrick Mouratoglou: I think it’s the best he has played ever. Jack was very impressive because he was without his biggest weapon, the serve, and he showed incredible qualities, beating the best guys from the baseline and being especially incredibly efficient at the big points and big moments, which is very important, and will be very useful in the future.
What can be improved?
Patrick Mouratoglou: I think we can improve a lot of things. I think it’s amazing. I know that if I would come to watch, not knowing UTS, I would fall in love with it, but I think we have still a big gap for improvement and I took a lot of notes. I don’t want to say more than that, but there are a lot of things we can do better.
What about the two dramas we had with Gael Monfils not being able to receive medical treatment for an injury and Andrey Rublev thinking he had played his bonus card?
Patrick Mouratoglou: I understand it. It’s always the same. It’s difficult for the players, but referees making mistakes is part of the game, unfortunately, they are humans so they can make a mistake. Actually, I don’t think in [either case] they made a mistake, and I told them [there were no errors].
When you want the card, it has to be really clear. You have to make sure that the chair umpire saw you…I think [it] was really unlucky that it happened, and I feel really bad for Andrey because he’s such a nice guy. But that’s part of the game.
I don’t think there should be any change here in the rule for Gael. Again, I’m sorry for him, but I think that being able to physically compete until the end is part of the game. So if you’re not able to, and you have to leave the court, you pull out. I don’t want to have those physios coming on the court because I know how it ends, it ends like ATP where they call the physio every time they have a problem, they want to break the rhythm. I think about the fans. If the guy is not able to play, sorry, but he has to leave the court.
I know it’s frustrating. I understand it’s more frustrating for the players because they are used to having this and they don’t have it anymore, but I think it’s a good rule.
On the tour when the ball is called out, the player might say, "No, it's in." The player's view can be superior to the umpire's decision if they agree. Jack said, "I'm OK with him receiving treatment now and not conceding the quarter." Can that work?
Patrick Mouratoglou: No, no, no, no. Jack said that because he’s used to the [ATP] rules. So he said no, it’s no problem, but no, here we don’t want that. I don’t want to have players being able to call the physio during the match even though both are OK. Of course, if someone is dying and needs medical assistance, it’s different, but for an injury, it’s part of the game, your body has to be able to handle the match. If not, sorry.
Jack said that because he’s used to the [ATP] rules. but no, here we don’t want that.
Patrick Mouratoglou
What do we know about the 2024 season?
Patrick Mouratoglou: We will have four events again in 2024. The first one will be in February, it’s going to be in Oslo, and the three others, it’s a mystery for the moment.
