– The president of the RMCT 1919 points out that the ATP Challenger Costa Cálida Region of Murcia «was born with the vocation to last in time and to settle» in the sporting panorama.
The second edition of the ATP Challenger Costa Cálida Region of Murcia has just come to an end after eight days of intense tennis. Last Sunday, the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor won the title by beating Carballés 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a thrilling match, in which he had to come from behind against the Spaniard, who arrived as top seed and as the main favourite to retain the trophy won in 2019.
«The tournament has been magnificent from every point of view. We have had players of a great level, seven under 190 and with an important final draw. As Spaniards we would have loved Carballés to have retained the title, and although he reached the final well, he came up against a Griekspoor in very good form. In any case, the general level has been very positive, the stands have received a lot of people and we have been congratulated by the ATP, the referees and the players», says Antonio Saura, president of the Real Murcia Club de Tenis 1919, the entity in charge of organising a tournament that, as its president states, «was born with the vocation to last and to settle down. The Region of Murcia needs and deserves such an important tennis tournament with its own stamp».
The big name of the Challenger has been Griekspoor, but there have also been other surprises: tennis players with a great future whose signature seems destined for the big international tournaments: «The big surprise has been Emilio Nava. He has a great future, he has shown it here and he caused us all a great sensation. Another rising star who took part in the tournament was the winner of the US Open under-18, Daniel Rincón, who played well, although he couldn’t get past the first round,» says Saura.
There have also been eight days of hard work during the Challenger, but the preparation for the tournament started a long time ago, as Antonio Saura explains: «Everything starts the moment you are awarded the tournament, and this year the workload has increased due to the regulations against the Covid-19. That has generated many new details that we had not contemplated, but the result is satisfactory in the eyes of everyone, both the spectators and the ATP, the RFET, the sponsors, the referees and the players». In addition, he points out that «everything has gone well thanks to the conjunction between the club’s employees and the board of directors, this is not the merit of one person or two, but of the well-planned joint work of professional and involved people».
Although the ATP Challenger Costa Cálida Region of Murcia has just finished, the RMCT 1919 does not rest: «From the 10th to the 13th of November we will host the Spanish Absolute Team Championship in the women’s category. It is the only tournament of the year in which all the Spanish players come together in one tournament. The best clubs in Spain will meet here, along with ours, to compete for the title. But, in addition, a week before, in Sabadell, our men’s team will play the Spanish Absolute Team Championship, and will try to defend the title they won in 2018», Saura points out.
