Madrid (Spain) – One of the main names in Spain in recent years on the circuit, Roberto Bautista decided to take a shot at the organization of the Masters 1000 in Madrid after overcoming the first round of the tournament’s main draw. The 36-year-old tennis player complained about the distribution of invitations, with only one going to tennis players in the country.
“I had to play the quali, that’s all. The truth is that I expected to receive an invitation, but look, I’ve always been in a privileged position, listening to my colleagues’ complaints. I understand that the tournament is owned by IMG and favors its clients, I understand that they look out for their own interests”, said Bautista.
“But I don’t agree that this tournament has large amounts of money from sponsors and Spanish institutions and that this is of no use. This doesn’t happen anywhere in the world, in any country, in any of the tournaments I play in. Where do we see something like this? This only happens here”, added the Spaniard.
Former top 10, Bautista currently occupies only 86th place and had to play the qualifying phase in Madrid. He lost in the last round of qualifying to compatriot and fellow veteran Albert Ramos, but entered the main draw as a lucky loser and overcame the first round against Colombian Daniel Galan. His next rival will be Russian Karen Khachanov.
In total there were five invitations in the main draw and only one went to local tennis players, the promising Martin Landaluce, who fell in the first round. The other four guests were João Fonseca, Zizou Bergs, Juncheng Shang, and Darwin Blanch, of which only the Brazilian and the Chinese managed to make it past their debut at Caixa Mágica.
Tags: Bautista criticizes distribution invitations Madrid Masters
