Usually, when sports organisers are attempting to distinguish their event in a busy marketplace, the differences are in the details.
It is quite the opposite this week at Zayed Sports City, where sameness and synchronisation are not just goals, they are preoccupations.
Every December, workers resurface the court at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex before the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an event that draws the best players in the men’s game. Not only does the work crew lay down a very specific type of surface, but of a particular hue of blue.
“The whole idea,” said Vickie Gunnarsson, the tournament director, “is to mirror the Australian Open court as much as possible.”
Welcome to the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex, which quite intentionally doubles as an Australian Open replication station.
The six-player Mubadala competition, which begins on Thursday, is often described as the unofficial season-opener, this time for 2014. Yet with the Aussie Open, the season’s first grand slam, beginning on January 13, it is not merely a player parade lap, but more akin to pole qualifying.
From the moment players walk onto Abu Dhabi’s stadium court, it is like being dropped into a miniature version of Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, right down to some minute details.
Thus, it is no accident that the top four players in the world are here this week – a tournament first. As the reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray all but said, “Good on ya.”
“I think that’s why they have had such strong fields over the years,” Murray said.
“Everyone is looking for matches at the beginning of the year and not all of the tournaments in the build-up are played on blue courts, or with Aussie Open balls.”
It goes beyond a paint job or brand names imprinted on fuzzy spheres, the most-visible parts of the Abu Dhabi doppelganger. Given the intentional parallels between the Australian Open and Mubadala, it is not surprising that the winner of the past two Abu Dhabi events, the world No 2 Novak Djokovic, has won the past three Australian Opens, too.
As it relates to Australia/Abu Dhabi duality, officials have done everything but add Vegemite to the lunch buffet in the player lounge. Every other element is a match point, so to speak.
Abu Dhabi officials start with the venue’s hard-court deck, the same quick surface used in Melbourne, and coat it with an acrylic layering and cobalt colour like the topping used at the Australian venue. Every year, the court is resurfaced.
“Their job is to get it as close to the Australian Open as possible,” Gunnarsson said. “They are of very similar speeds.”
Even the facility’s exterior practice court, where players work out and warm up, is resurfaced annually in blue.
The balls are no accident, either. With multiple options, officials use Wilson’s Australian Open balls, another decision that eases the players’ transition into the first grand slam.
Behind the scenes, a crew who works the major ATP events is on hand to restring rackets to the demanding player specifications. They are surrounded by trainers from the ATP circuit. Seated at the net will be officials with ATP or grand slam experience.
“These are recognisable faces for the players, to give them the feel of what they see at the big events,” Gunnarsson said.
Mubadala’s automated review system, Hawk-Eye, is also used in Melbourne. Taken individually, it seems like small stuff. But, as Murray noted, it adds up and makes entering the tournament an easy decision.
“It does make a huge difference,” said Murray, the 2008 Mubadala winner. “Before grand slams, if you can make it as close as you can to what the top players like to play in, you are going to get strong fields. It’s just good preparation.”
selling@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE