Christopher Eubanks is playing the ATP 250 Atlanta Open and we talk to Tournament Director Peter Lebdevs about the men’s professional tennis event
Transcript
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Speaker:- Hey, hey, this is Shaun with the Atlanta Tennis Podcast,
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Speaker:In this episode, we talk to Peter Lebedevs,
Speaker:who is the tournament director at the ATP250 Atlanta Tennis Open.
Speaker:The event runs from July 22nd to July 30th,
Speaker:including top American Taylor Fritz,
Speaker:French Showman Gail Monfils,
Speaker:and recent Atlanta-born Wimbledon success story,
Speaker:Christopher Eubanks.
Speaker:Have a listen and let us know what you think.
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Speaker:- First of all, we appreciate you taking time,
Speaker:but know you're busy.
Speaker:It is the week before the event.
Speaker:The ATP250 Atlanta Open, all that.
Speaker:You are the tournament director.
Speaker:You've been there for years,
Speaker:but this is your first year as the man, right?
Speaker:- Yeah, look Eddie
Speaker:tarted this thing together in:Speaker:and we've been friends many years,
Speaker:and when he left, I stepped up into his role.
Speaker:I am currently the tournament director
Speaker:of our company's other 250 event
Speaker:that we run in Dallas, Texas, the Dallas Open.
Speaker:So comfortable in this role,
Speaker:just a new role for me here in Atlanta,
Speaker:but look, the people are so good here in Atlanta,
Speaker:and I know so many of them that it's been a great transition,
Speaker:and everybody's been excited about the change,
Speaker:and looking forward to working with us.
Speaker:I was about to say, well,
Speaker:but they've been working great, so we're excited.
Speaker:- I like it.
Speaker:I know Bobby's got all kinds of questions,
Speaker:especially including the Dallas event,
Speaker:so I'm gonna hand you over to him, Bobby,
Speaker:what you got for Peter?
Speaker:- Well, Peter, great segue, and as Sean said,
Speaker:thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker:So we concentrate or try to focus more on Atlanta.
Speaker:So the first curiosity would be always,
Speaker:you've been in Long Island, you've been in Dallas,
Speaker:you're in Atlanta.
Speaker:What are the differences?
Speaker:What makes Atlanta unique that you have
Speaker:or challenge as opposed to the other cities?
Speaker:- Oh, look, every place you go is different.
Speaker:I mean, the other two events you mentioned are indoors.
Speaker:So as soon as you start talking indoors,
Speaker:you're talking about a very different,
Speaker:you know, animal with snow and ice and things like that.
Speaker:And then here in Atlanta, we got 120 degrees
Speaker:and funnish hours every afternoon.
Speaker:So they're very different in terms of that,
Speaker:but look, the Atlanta crowd is fantastic.
Speaker:They know the doubles, they love the doubles down here.
Speaker:So, you know, they're each different
Speaker:and an Atlantic station is an amazing venue
Speaker:that we're able to play out of.
Speaker:You know, the players are able to say the hotel,
Speaker:walk to the site, walk to all of their things.
Speaker:So we had some really, what I'll call unique things
Speaker:here for the players, but they really love.
Speaker:So, you know, the difference between Dallas and here,
Speaker:one big difference is there is zero parking in Dallas.
Speaker:We're on the SMU campus and there is none,
Speaker:but here in Atlanta, Atlantic Station,
Speaker:we have 7,500 covered spots that cost $15 a day to park.
Speaker:You can't beat that parking anywhere in the country.
Speaker:So, you know, the biggest differences,
Speaker:I think, are hot and cold and parking probably
Speaker:between all of them.
Speaker:- And Peter, I know you're not aware of this
Speaker:or forgive you this time, but we're not allowed
Speaker:to say SMU on the podcast because I went to TCU.
Speaker:- Oh, okay, on Friday, so you came Nori Boy, yeah.
Speaker:That's all right.
Speaker:So, by the way, who did came Nori Loaster, Walden?
Speaker:- Oh, I don't even know.
Speaker:I know it's said--
Speaker:- Yeah, you're coming to Atlanta, huh?
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, you see you guys.
Speaker:So, we got to bring up the TCU connection
Speaker:that Chris Ubank speak, Cam Nori,
Speaker:and in a great match, that was his first seeded player
Speaker:that he beat me and he's run this.
Speaker:- Oh, yeah.
Speaker:- Exactly.
Speaker:There's always that little TCU losing connection
Speaker:to somebody in the Atlanta open.
Speaker:- Just kidding.
Speaker:- Just kidding.
Speaker:- I thought you were talking about Georgian General.
Speaker:I know, it's been a great year,
Speaker:but it's been a bad year.
Speaker:What can you do?
Speaker:- That's right.
Speaker:- That's right.
Speaker:- So, one of the other questions I was gonna ask,
Speaker:but I think it's been answered for me
Speaker:'cause I just opened up your latest email blast
Speaker:with Chris as obviously the highlight,
Speaker:has his success at Wimbleton been a feast for you guys?
Speaker:- Look at starting to, as I told,
Speaker:we had our 300 volunteers come and do their orientation
Speaker:on Saturday, and as I explained to them,
Speaker:Chris was not in the original main draw field
Speaker:because when that came out, he was 77 in the world.
Speaker:Now, the way the entry details work and this sort of stuff,
Speaker:Chris was always gonna get in
Speaker:because he was the next guy in the draw.
Speaker:I can go into all the raw details,
Speaker:but too much to worry about,
Speaker:but knowing that he's gonna get in.
Speaker:But then after that field is announced,
Speaker:everybody was kinda like,
Speaker:"Oh, you know, Chris, you're back here, he'll get in."
Speaker:No big deal.
Speaker:Well, then Chris that week goes and wins my yorka.
Speaker:So all of a sudden, now a little bit of a,
Speaker:bubbles start sending,
Speaker:"Oh, Chris, you back, Chris can play the Atlanta open."
Speaker:So questions get asked,
Speaker:and then it's, Chris has his two weeks of Wimbledon
Speaker:all of a sudden, "Oh, Chris, you back, Peter, why is he not in the event?"
Speaker:Blah, blah.
Speaker:And so Chris grew right after we announced the field,
Speaker:but now that he's in, look, it's fantastic for us.
Speaker:We're excited to have him.
Speaker:He's gonna be a part of our court-cristing
Speaker:that we're doing on Friday,
Speaker:him and Kyle Corb,
Speaker:along with Ethan Quinn and Trent Brighter,
Speaker:he's gonna be the first people to play on our stadium court
Speaker:this year with the name Atlanta.
Speaker:That's getting across the court.
Speaker:So look, Chris is a bonus.
Speaker:And Chris is a tremendous young man.
Speaker:I've known him for many years,
Speaker:and I told the story to our volunteers the other day.
Speaker:I was at Wimbledon last year with a player
Speaker:and couldn't get a ride to the main site.
Speaker:And I saw Chris down in the restaurant the night before,
Speaker:and I said, "Hey, Chris, can I, you know,
Speaker:snag along a ride with you in the morning to the site?"
Speaker:And Chris said, "Ah, no problem, Peter, you know,
Speaker:he's just a great guy for us in Atlanta.
Speaker:We're lucky to have him."
Speaker:But he's also great for tennis, breath of fresh air.
Speaker:There's not a camera that doesn't love Chris,
Speaker:and there's not a person that doesn't love Chris.
Speaker:So, you know, batting a thousand.
Speaker:- Well, that's good.
Speaker:We're certainly excited about the opportunity.
Speaker:Also, helps we have a lot of homegrown talent.
Speaker:It's good to have a little American resurgence,
Speaker:which is certainly gonna help move the event.
Speaker:- Yeah, looking really is.
Speaker:Fritzy is, Taylor's come a long way in the last few years
Speaker:and I talked to his agent constantly about how much he's grown
Speaker:both as a player and he just loves to play.
Speaker:So, we've got him coming along and, you know,
Speaker:excited for him to play some great tennis.
Speaker:You know, and then you add in Chris,
Speaker:Chris is going from not being in the drawtor.
Speaker:He's gonna be probably, if all things hold up right now,
Speaker:he'll be our number six seed in the event,
Speaker:which is amazing for not being into suddenly number six.
Speaker:And then you've got, you know,
Speaker:some of the other Americans, Marcus Yaron and Brandon Nakashima
Speaker:who, you know, has done very, very well here before.
Speaker:So, we have a tremendous group of American players
Speaker:that are gonna be playing here.
Speaker:And just US tennis is in good shape,
Speaker:both on the men's and women's.
Speaker:So, we're excited to see that just from, you know,
Speaker:our love of tennis as a company, you know,
Speaker:we're really committed to growth of tennis.
Speaker:So, we're excited to see that for tennis in the US.
Speaker:- Obviously, as we talked about Atlanta,
Speaker:being a little different
Speaker:and you've smoked on the heat.
Speaker:And we do see that they're advertising for shaded courts.
Speaker:What are the differences are gonna be
Speaker:for the facility that gets you some shade this year?
Speaker:- Yeah, well, shaded seats, not a shaded court,
Speaker:the court is still gonna be 120, no, shaded seats.
Speaker:Well, what we've done is, you know,
Speaker:we like every sporting event.
Speaker:There are suites that are used for corporate hospitality
Speaker:and things like that.
Speaker:So, what we've done is instead of, you know,
Speaker:if we have a suite available, if we have some seats
Speaker:that are covered, we're letting the public buy those,
Speaker:obviously, a discounted rate and be able to sit in the shade.
Speaker:So, you know, for one of the first times ever,
Speaker:some of the south suites down that end,
Speaker:you can be able to sit up there in our shaded boxes
Speaker:under there and so you're gonna be sitting underneath the awning
Speaker:and you're not gonna have the sun beating down on you.
Speaker:Now, we'll tell you that one or two of them
Speaker:does get some some, some part of the day, but not much.
Speaker:So, that's the idea behind that.
Speaker:And our north suites where people can buy seats
Speaker:out of that for individual sessions as well
Speaker:on the ones that aren't used for our corporate hospitality,
Speaker:that actually has an air condition space
Speaker:along with the seats outside.
Speaker:Those seats are outside in the sun,
Speaker:but you have an indoor space to hang out in
Speaker:and can watch some tennis.
Speaker:And the south suites, you sit in the shade the entire time,
Speaker:but you're in the open air.
Speaker:So, the idea is to provide options for the fans
Speaker:and look, we already sold quite a few of those seats
Speaker:when you first announce them the other day.
Speaker:So, we're excited to give the fans that experience
Speaker:of being able to sit in the shade in Atlanta.
Speaker:That's the goal.
Speaker:- And obviously, like you said,
Speaker:nobody else has to deal with 120 degrees on the court
Speaker:like Atlanta does.
Speaker:So, it's certainly welcome.
Speaker:We might even try to see if there's a couple of players
Speaker:try to sneak into the area.
Speaker:- Oh, the coach is always there.
Speaker:The coach is always there with the guys.
Speaker:He can't sit here, somebody's bought the seat
Speaker:or something, he's on the mat, but you know,
Speaker:the coach is early on always trying to sneak in that area.
Speaker:- Peter, how do you handle that?
Speaker:So, when I would go to an event as a kid,
Speaker:there was a time where you realized, okay,
Speaker:the expensive seat down there, nobody's coming today.
Speaker:Can you just kind of let me down in there?
Speaker:Are they in the baseball games?
Speaker:They let everybody come down after some inning
Speaker:or whatever it is.
Speaker:Is there an ability that we have that, okay,
Speaker:I bought a seat in road 97,
Speaker:but there's really not a lot of people here right now.
Speaker:It's either the end of the day or it's crazy hot
Speaker:and I'm the only one going to sit in that seat.
Speaker:Is there, do you have people just keeping saying,
Speaker:sorry, you didn't pay the seat, you can't come down here?
Speaker:- Look, it sounds kind of crazy during the day session
Speaker:because we don't know who's going to be there.
Speaker:We do have to hold that.
Speaker:- Keep breathing.
Speaker:- Yeah, because look at devalues,
Speaker:those people that have paid for a face show up,
Speaker:there's nothing worse when they show up.
Speaker:At the end of the day, the end of the night,
Speaker:like when we've had some rain and things like that
Speaker:and somebody was sitting in that front row
Speaker:and the person sitting there, the ocean knows,
Speaker:they're not coming back.
Speaker:They're allowed to use their discretion a little bit,
Speaker:but basically we don't do it too much simply
Speaker:because the person has paid for that extra ticket.
Speaker:They're like, well hang on, I could have just come down
Speaker:later on the day.
Speaker:Every venue goes through it,
Speaker:but we do want to create an atmosphere for the player.
Speaker:So we're Nick Kerrio's place in doubles a couple of years ago
Speaker:at one o'clock in the morning because of rain.
Speaker:You know, we told the people then,
Speaker:look, come on down, you can't come to the very first two rows,
Speaker:but you can come on down from the other rows
Speaker:and we've got them there because the players
Speaker:want to have an atmosphere.
Speaker:So look, I'll be honest, go watch another sporting event.
Speaker:You can see where the price break is in his seats
Speaker:because all of a sudden the people are from the fifth row
Speaker:up its pack, so you go, okay.
Speaker:So fourth row is where the difference prices are sort of things.
Speaker:So we've done, look, even for our own team,
Speaker:Justin Plettney kind of team,
Speaker:she does a great job of managing that.
Speaker:We actually, our prices changed every couple of rows
Speaker:because we don't want to have a big section missing
Speaker:and as you get a little bit further away,
Speaker:it's a little bit cheaper on the seat.
Speaker:And as you get closer, it's a little more expensive
Speaker:because you get that different atmosphere.
Speaker:So JP has done a great job for us building out an opportunity
Speaker:for all our fans to be as close as works for them.
Speaker:- Very good.
Speaker:Speak too, if you're a mic,
Speaker:because one thing that really impressive about the Atlanta open
Speaker:and you guys got it earlier than most is the,
Speaker:as you said, the experience, the atmosphere,
Speaker:if you love tennis, obviously,
Speaker:we got great tennis.
Speaker:But there's a lot going on.
Speaker:You have the exhibition in the beginning of the week.
Speaker:You do a great run up to the tournament.
Speaker:Speak to the whole experience
Speaker:that actually culminates in the Atlanta open.
Speaker:- Yeah, look, I mean, a goal and a dream goal
Speaker:that Eddie used to have and I still have
Speaker:and we all have as a company,
Speaker:is it's an event that tennis has played at.
Speaker:That you're coming down there for,
Speaker:don't have to love tennis to come down there.
Speaker:It's a place to be.
Speaker:We try and get where we do our kick off event.
Speaker:We try and do that each year at a new place,
Speaker:somewhere different and invite lots of new people
Speaker:to see our events.
Speaker:So we start there.
Speaker:We brought Riley and Perlka into town to do some hits
Speaker:on TV, Riley, unfortunately, is injured
Speaker:and can't play.
Speaker:He might be playing till probably next January with his wrist.
Speaker:So we try and lead up to that.
Speaker:We have a media day.
Speaker:We're in the out of the field.
Speaker:Then we're doing our event where we're
Speaker:focusing our court on Friday.
Speaker:Then we have the kids day that's free,
Speaker:that's presented by public.
Speaker:So kids 12 and under all weekend on the qualifying get in.
Speaker:And then we do have our Sunday showdown delivered by UPS
Speaker:with Coco, Gough and Layla Fernandez.
Speaker:But the other things that we have this year,
Speaker:we're actually having a signature dessert.
Speaker:And I ask groups of volunteers this question,
Speaker:what do they think the signature dessert
Speaker:for the Atlanta Open should be?
Speaker:And I'll give you guys a chance.
Speaker:I don't know if you've seen it in the press yet,
Speaker:but I give you guys the chance.
Speaker:What do you think the signature dessert should be
Speaker:at an event here at the Atlanta Open?
Speaker:Take a shot.
Speaker:Kim Lime pie or something.
Speaker:It's got to be something peach, right?
Speaker:Wait a minute.
Speaker:Yeah, think about it.
Speaker:Come on now.
Speaker:I'll go peach cobbler.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:Absolutely right.
Speaker:It's peach cobbler with ice cream.
Speaker:Sonny's barbecue is creating very Atlanta.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:In between Sonny's sonny's and they have that mac and cheese,
Speaker:I said to them, hey, I'm good.
Speaker:Now I want to look the same after we
Speaker:are eating mac and cheese and peach cobbler with ice cream.
Speaker:But Sonny's has been a tremendous partner with us for years
Speaker:and so I said to them, guys, let's make a dessert.
Speaker:Everybody does a dream.
Speaker:Let's do something different.
Speaker:Let's do a dessert.
Speaker:So we're doing that.
Speaker:And then this year down on the, for us, which is great,
Speaker:on the southeast corner of our venue,
Speaker:we're actually bringing in food trucks.
Speaker:We're bringing in a total of six
Speaker:and they'll rotate through the day.
Speaker:There'll be picnic tables down there.
Speaker:So we're going to have some different food things out there
Speaker:which people are going to be able to say, okay,
Speaker:so today it's Mediterranean, tomorrow it's Italian,
Speaker:tomorrow it's a little bit different.
Speaker:So that we've got some different food options for people.
Speaker:One of the other ones that I'm excited to see,
Speaker:I haven't actually seen it, but we've done a partnership
Speaker:with SCAD and the SCAD University is unbelievable.
Speaker:And I've always looked at that billboard across the street
Speaker:and said, hang on, we need to do something with him.
Speaker:So I went and did a tour.
Speaker:It's an absolutely amazing facility.
Speaker:They were partnering with us on our kickoff event
Speaker:with the artwork at the venue we're at.
Speaker:And so they're going to create a mural for us,
Speaker:an interactive mural.
Speaker:And so it's going up on tomorrow.
Speaker:And what will do is you sort of you take a picture of it
Speaker:and then all of a sudden the tennis balls start flying
Speaker:at you and all this sort of stuff, really, really cool.
Speaker:And they've also done a T-shirt design for ATF.
Speaker:The great program that we have at Land of Youth,
Speaker:Tennis and Education Foundation.
Speaker:So they're doing that.
Speaker:So we've partnered with them.
Speaker:So I can't wait to see the mural.
Speaker:I can't wait to see the T-shirt on the kids.
Speaker:And then even in our gathering area,
Speaker:under the big tent when you guys coming through the front door,
Speaker:we've upgraded that.
Speaker:We've got a new video board.
Speaker:We've got new furniture in there.
Speaker:So look, I think the fans are going to have fun sitting in there
Speaker:and we've got their music acts every evening in there.
Speaker:So sitting watching a little bit of tennis, listening to some music,
Speaker:grab some food from the food trucks, go up to Sunnies
Speaker:and get your signature dessert,
Speaker:have your mind blown with an interactive mural?
Speaker:I mean, I think we're getting just that all covered.
Speaker:Well, I think it's awesome.
Speaker:That's a full, you know, Atlanta's a Tier 1 city.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:And it deserves a huge experience.
Speaker:And again, I think you guys get it.
Speaker:And you know, things just keep getting better.
Speaker:And obviously the player enhancements
Speaker:is only going to make it where this becomes a must-do in July.
Speaker:Now, is it better or worse being so close to Wimbledon?
Speaker:Because we left before we got on the phone with you saying,
Speaker:you know, we remember July 4th used to be the end of Wimbledon.
Speaker:Remember the '80s, Springsteen and Mackinar, born in the USA.
Speaker:And now Wimbledon's ending the 15th.
Speaker:Is that-- do you think that does that help you guys?
Speaker:That it's so fresh on everybody's mind?
Speaker:Look, it's sort of this--
Speaker:we're in a good position where we are this week out.
Speaker:It gives people enough time.
Speaker:And when you have somebody like Chris do as well as he did,
Speaker:it creates a lot of buzz and everybody's excited.
Speaker:And you know, you continue that buzz, especially
Speaker:with one of our players doing so well.
Speaker:The challenge is, is the players get worn out.
Speaker:I mean, somebody like Chris, who's, you know,
Speaker:wins New Yorker and then has those two weeks,
Speaker:these bodies never played that amount of tennis.
Speaker:So look, I had to have a bit of a discussion
Speaker:with his team about, look, you know, I know he wants to play it.
Speaker:I know he want to have them a part of it.
Speaker:But is he able to do because of his body?
Speaker:So it's a little weird.
Speaker:It's great for us.
Speaker:But when the guys get to the quarter finals or beyond,
Speaker:it's hard for their body not to be worn out.
Speaker:And so, yes, I think this is a great week.
Speaker:But when a player does really well at Wimbledon,
Speaker:then that, you know, I quite often expect
Speaker:that call from them that says, hey guys, you know,
Speaker:he can't make it today because, you know,
Speaker:the body is just tired.
Speaker:So Chris's team has done a great job of keeping him, you know,
Speaker:rested and he's making that decision along with them.
Speaker:So you know, we're excited that he wants to play here.
Speaker:And he's, he wants, he only wants to play when he's healthy.
Speaker:So, you know, that was the only one thing.
Speaker:But he thinks he's going to be ready and we're excited
Speaker:to have him here.
Speaker:But as it relates to Wimbledon, we're about the right spot.
Speaker:Maybe one more week might be more helpful.
Speaker:So that way the guy can get to the final Wimbledon.
Speaker:He'd still be ready for us, but where we are,
Speaker:I think it, it works for us.
Speaker:Now, you're back to the CD, excuse me real quick.
Speaker:And you're talking about do you always leave a seat
Speaker:next to Patricia Jensen open so she can put her in the meeting
Speaker:and it gives everybody the opportunity to come kiss the ring?
Speaker:Well, you know, I, I, I say one seed.
Speaker:It never stays one seed with Patricia.
Speaker:There's always more than one.
Speaker:But look, Patricia, I've known her for years.
Speaker:Since Luke and Murphy were coming and playing
Speaker:in the event, I ran it Memphis.
Speaker:And look, I, one of the first things I ever did
Speaker:with tennis tournaments was run the ball kids.
Speaker:So it was kind of interesting how we, we have this very strong
Speaker:connection based on, on that aspect.
Speaker:And as you mentioned, the Golden Retrievers,
Speaker:her and I have talked about the way I used to encourage kids
Speaker:that were a little too young to be out on the court from pure safety
Speaker:standpoint.
Speaker:So look, Patricia is fantastic.
Speaker:She loves the kid.
Speaker:She loves tennis.
Speaker:She loves the tournament.
Speaker:I mean, look, you know, when you look back and you find those
Speaker:old pictures of Luke and Murphy in their sort of petrol jackets,
Speaker:I guess gas station jackets, petrol, that's my Australian throwback.
Speaker:You know, she was ahead of the deal on marketing
Speaker:and pushing the envelope already.
Speaker:So, you know, that's where she is on, on that.
Speaker:So love, Patricia and yes, I always say for one,
Speaker:but it never turns out to be one.
Speaker:[LAUGHS]
Speaker:So next year, I'm going to, I want to put it in,
Speaker:Paul, because we have where I, where I work out of Windermere,
Speaker:has such a deep connection to the tournament
Speaker:between the Cadillac connection and the Becky Robinson
Speaker:connection.
Speaker:When do we get you to make the announcement up at Windermere
Speaker:in coming, Jordan?
Speaker:Well, I'll tell you what, I think we might have to,
Speaker:we might have to put that together pretty soon right there.
Speaker:You know, Becky's out social, she works in social media
Speaker:and she's so much fun.
Speaker:Becky, I, she has these ideas, I look at them and I go,
Speaker:"Mm, and she does them and everybody then loves them."
Speaker:It's kind of amazing what she does,
Speaker:but we'll have to get you all out there and make it a,
Speaker:sort of a big group there with Becky and Patricia and you guys.
Speaker:So we'll, we'll do that.
Speaker:Oh, you're not going to, you're not going to invite Sam.
Speaker:Come on, we'll be out there.
Speaker:Well, Sam, Sam's already there.
Speaker:That's, well, actually, that's what I'm doing right now.
Speaker:I am, I'm about to jump in a van and drive our volunteers up
Speaker:to go and pick up the rest of the Cadillacs from Sam's place.
Speaker:So yeah, it's a very, it's a very small world
Speaker:that we're living in, but all the volunteers are going to be
Speaker:very quiet while I'm driving and talking in my earpods.
Speaker:So I don't have it in my hand.
Speaker:So we can do this, we can do this podcast and keep doing it safely.
Speaker:(laughs)
Speaker:No, well, we knew we had a limited window with you.
Speaker:So we, we understand completely, we appreciate obviously a week,
Speaker:less than a week out.
Speaker:You have a lot on your plate.
Speaker:Anything you'd like to tell the Atlanta market
Speaker:to get them even more fired up about the experience.
Speaker:Look, coming out and see the event.
Speaker:It's going to be, it's going to be fun with the,
Speaker:with the extra additions, the different look and feel.
Speaker:Chris is going to be playing on Monday or Tuesday.
Speaker:We're going to have John Isnam playing Monday, Tuesday,
Speaker:and ishaqori Isna.
Speaker:We don't know the decals on exactly what time simply
Speaker:because of the rules of the ATP has.
Speaker:But look for that for the day before and wish you
Speaker:being a good shape to have everybody come out and have a great time.
Speaker:Fantastic.
Speaker:Sean, Peter is so good off the cuff to your dare.
Speaker:Ask the King of tennis question.
Speaker:Just, it'll be a tease and we can get it
Speaker:a full answer in a later date.
Speaker:I prepared him for it.
Speaker:So I'd love to go ahead and ask and see if he's put some thought into it.
Speaker:But Peter, have you thought about it?
Speaker:If you were made King of tennis and you've got such good,
Speaker:good experience in the tennis world.
Speaker:If you were made King of tennis, is there anything you would do or change?
Speaker:You got it.
Speaker:Look, I'll tell you what, that's a question that's loaded.
Speaker:But I think we should change it.
Speaker:I think we should change tennis to a much more open and interactive and fun thing.
Speaker:Like, look, we treat these guys like they're too special
Speaker:and we need to just let them go crazy.
Speaker:Like, for instance, here at Lent, open,
Speaker:we're going to be throwing t-shirts out on changeovers.
Speaker:We're going to have things happening on the court
Speaker:like we do at a basketball event and not on the other ones.
Speaker:We need to have the fans more engaged.
Speaker:The idea of being quiet, that's for the birds.
Speaker:We've got to figure out a way to be a little bit louder out there
Speaker:and get the fans engaged.
Speaker:So see that at the Lent to open, but that's what I would do.
Speaker:I would say, let's make our matches shorter.
Speaker:But have them a little quicker and let's have a lot more fan interactions.
Speaker:But, you know, Frances Tiafone, I agree on that.
Speaker:We talked about it in Dallas.
Speaker:And now we just got to sort of get everybody thinking that way.
Speaker:It can be fun.
Speaker:Just let's make it as much fun as possible.
Speaker:So that's what I would do.
Speaker:Well, we love the answer.
Speaker:I've left Peter just, again, pro to the conference strong
Speaker:and I got on the phone.
Speaker:I said, no, Peter, a while.
Speaker:And we've spoken a few times.
Speaker:I'll be curious if he's any less energetic just because he is the man now.
Speaker:And I'm proud to say you're the same Peter and the energy is awesome.
Speaker:And we're lucky to have you.
Speaker:Keep doing what you're doing.
Speaker:Thanks, Prishev.
Speaker:Look, we got a great company in our founder, Gary Firmann.
Speaker:He believes in tennis, loves tennis.
Speaker:And so it's good to work with a company that has that.
Speaker:And wants to see tennis grow in the US and look,
Speaker:when these live events come together with all the staff and volunteers
Speaker:that work hard for it, he can't help but keep the energy up.
Speaker:So thanks guys.
Speaker:Prishev.
Speaker:Thank you, Peter.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:Be safe.
Speaker:We'll see you soon.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:See you guys.
Speaker:Bye now.
Speaker:Well, there you have it.
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Speaker:And with that, we're out.
Speaker:See you next time.
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