Modern Rome

In the UK the primary source of tennis for most people is Wimbledon, Queens Club, and the Davis Cup. Since we are doing so well in the Davis Cup, (yes, it is the lowest form of wit) there isn't much to chear about at the moment. So it is left to the traditional courts of Queens Club and Wimbledon to provide our professional tennis needs. It would be great if more tournaments were broadcast on terestrial to our telebox, so everyone could enjoy the variety and excitement from the professional tour, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon. A whole world outside of the hallowed grass courts of Wimbledon, with its quaint atmosphere and unique style of play which many of the top players never do well at, exists.

The clay court is something most kids have never seen before, yet alone played on. Rome is one of the nine Masters Series tournaments, which occurs every year around May. The Masters Series tournaments are unique because you are virtually guaranteed to see almost all of the top 10 players when you visit. At Wimbledon you only have one seat (if you are lucky to get one) out of the 3 main stadiums. This restricts the chances of seeing your favourite player. It is actually unlikely you will see more than 2 top ATP players, as there are both men's and women's matches being played, best of 5 sets. Going to a tournament like Rome vastly increases your chances of seeing higher quality matches form the top 10 or 20 players in the world. We went mid-week, and on one day saw Henman, Nadal, Moya, Roddick and Murray. The next day we saw Federer, Roddick, Rusedski, Henman, Nadal, Stepanek and Mathieu. All top players and all on the same court. Ticket prices are cheaper as well. We had third row seats for a similar price to back row seats on Centre Court at Wimbledon. The weather is almost guaranteed to be perfect, unlike London, and the tennis lasts well into the night, usually finishing past midnight. It's like you're on holiday!

There are so many benefits to venturing a little further away than home. The absolute deal breaker is the opportunity to take in a city as magnificant as Rome. The history, the city, the architecture, the food, the people... I'm not going to even try and sell Rome to you. Make your next tennis tournament a holiday!

Visit the Rome Masters Series website for more information and to book tickets online.