After three runner-up finishes at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Gael Monfils finally captured the title with victory over Andrey Rublev in the championship match on Saturday. But he was not the only one who received hardware, as Tournament Director Karim Alami accepted a trophy honouring the Doha event's place as one of the Tournaments of the Year in the 2017 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon.
The Qatar ExxonMobil Open reclaimed the award in the 250 category after previously sharing the honour with the St. Petersburg Open in 2015. Held in the opening week of the ATP World Tour season with ExxonMobil as title sponsor since its 1993 inception, the set new attendance records in 2017 under the continued guidance of Alami, a former player.
“On behalf of the Qatar Tennis Federation and of all the team involved in the planning and delivery of the event, I want to express how delighted we are of being selected once again as the ATP 250 Tournament of the Year,” said Alami. “Our goal is to consistently deliver an event that meets the highest organisational standards while providing players and their support teams, officials, guests, and spectators with warm conditions and attention to detail that make them ‘feel at home’ during their time in Doha at our event. The selection of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open as the best ATP 250 tournament of 2017 confirms we have been successful in meeting those standards consistently, year after year.
“None of this would be possible without the endless support from our title sponsor, ExxonMobil, all sponsors involved in the project and the continuous support and efforts of the Qatar Tennis Federation Board of Directors, the support received from the State of Qatar institutions and organisations, and the special and productive relation we maintain with the ATP. We will continue delivering a very special event and our wish that all players come and share a wonderful week with us in Doha year after year.”
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The Tournament of the Year awards, voted annually by ATP World Tour players, recognise the leading standards set across the three tournament categories on the Tour. The BNP Paribas Open and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will receive their trophies in the coming months, respectively in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and 500 tournament categories.
Visit the official ATP World Tour Awards section on ATPWorldTour.com.