SUNRISE, Fl.—Challenger events, the minor leagues for the ATP tour, generally attract players who don’t have a high enough ranking to qualify for ATP events.
That’s not the case for the BMW Tennis Championship in Sunrise, FL, outside Fort Lauderdale. The tournament, which ends this weekend, has a draw that’s stronger than several ATP events, with World No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez its top seed this year.
What makes this Challenger special is that it takes place a week before the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, on the same surface, only 30 miles away.
The Key Biscayne event and last week's Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells are the two biggest tournaments in the country after the US Open. So players who lose early in Indian Wells like to use Sunrise as a warm-up for Key Biscayne.
Gabe Norona, the tournament’s director and co-owner, is an admitted pro tennis groupie/junkie. "Jonas Bjorkman and Stefan Koubek are my best friends, and I went to Barbara Schett’s wedding" says the 51-year-old software executive, who played No. 1 singles at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale while Chris Evert was there.
"I was traveling with players like Stefan and Gary Muller at the US Open a few years ago, and they were saying that if you lose early in Indian Wells, you might not be playing another match for two weeks," Norona said.
So he asked the ATP if he could set up a Challenger in South Florida that allowed dual entry with Indian Wells. The ATP agreed, and the event began in 2004. The inaugural champion was Jurgen Melzer, followed by and Karol Beck, Dmitry Tursunov and Gael Monfils.
This year’s semifinals featured Sebastien Grosjean vs. Melzer, and Chris Guccione vs. Robin Haase, with 20-year-old Haase emerging the titlist.
The Sunrise tournament allows players to get used to the Laykold Cushion surface of Key Biscayne, which is slower than Indian Wells, and the humidity and wind of South Florida.
Grosjean, for one, feels grateful that the event is around. "This is the first time I’ve played a Challenger since 1999," said the world No. 51, who reached the final before falling to Haase in three sets. "I didn’t do well at Indian Wells and had an injury before, so I need matches."
It also helps that he lives in Boca Raton, 30 minutes away. "It feels like a home tournament," he said.
The Challenger is played at a public tennis club, Tennis Club Park, that has the feel of a lush public park. The center court is sunken below ground with attractive stone walls at each end and stands for up to 2,500 people.
Watching quarterfinal matches Friday was Vince Spadea Sr., father of the ATP pro.
Spadea Sr. probably has a more interesting background than his son. The 62-year-old Cornell University graduate trained as a classical opera singer in Italy and still performs as a pianist and singer at parties. That’s a sideline to his full-time job as a real estate broker. You can see where Spadea Jr.’s drive originated. The father has strong and creative views about a number of subjects and a firm belief in the work ethic.