One of the most disgraceful events in the country's history: the "experience" of watching the Tel Aviv tournament

Stupid religious coercion, confused management, an unfathomable bottleneck at the entrance and "premium" seats without a viewing angle - these are just some of the failures that turned what was supposed to be one of the highlights of tennis in Israel into a disgrace.

Amit Salonim suffered all the way to Djokovic, now he demands an apology from the organizers

Salon associate

30/09/2022

Friday, September 30, 2022, 10:30 a.m

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Novak Djokovic practices on the beach in Tel Aviv (from Twitter)

i won

I got to see Messi score a championship goal from a few meters away.

I got to see Steph Curry score 33 points en route to a dramatic win in the NBA Western Conference Finals.

I got to see Andy Murray dance on Center Court on his way to winning Wimbledon.

For the fan in the stands, being there at the moment when the legend is born and becomes part of history, is a rare feeling of euphoria.

It does not detract from the athletes' sense of victory on the field.

Sometimes it's even more.

Not every basketball player is LeBron, not every soccer player is Ronaldo.

When we see them, we know we are seeing something rare.

diamond.

How many thousands of Israelis will be able to say this week that they saw such a legend in real time - Novak Djokovic is a legend who really was.

With 21 Grand Slam tournament wins, second only to Nadal (22), it is hard to believe that there is anyone who would argue that Nola is not a worthy candidate for the title of the greatest tennis player in history.

At the very least, this is the greatest tennis player to have reached an official tournament in Israel.

The experience of watching him play in Tel Aviv and easily advance to the quarterfinals of the local ATP250 tournament was incredible.

And he did play.

in the purest and most innocent sense of the word.

For moments he looks like a cat playing with a cockroach just before tearing it to pieces.

Pablo Andojar, the Spaniard who is ranked 115th in the world, looks in front of him like an extra in a movie.

After 29 minutes, the Serbian already finished the first set with an easy 0:6.

The second act was already more measured, and more sporting, but for a moment there was no doubt that the smiling cat would kill his prey as soon as he chose.

The audience enjoyed every moment, if only for the privilege of seeing such a great master in life size.

Thanks for the privilege, sorry for the inconvenience.

Djokovic with the crowd in Tel Aviv (Photo: Reuters)

I wish I could keep praising this moment.

I could tell how much Djokovic flattered the Israeli audience, and the country in general.

He talked about the energy in the street and the exciting sounds of the candy game on the beach in Tel Aviv.

But while Djokovic's personal charisma can light up the entire Gush Dan block, and the tennis on the surface at the exhibition grounds was at the highest possible level - everything around was simply substandard.

It seems that the tennis association decided to break the records of Haltora, when they decided to produce one of the most important sporting events that were here, in the most embarrassing way possible.

It started already at the beginning of the week, with the unimaginable decision to hold the tournament games without an audience during the holidays.

It was one of the most stupid moments of religious coercion in a country where religious coercion is commonplace.

Imagine that buses will travel throughout the cities in Israel during Shabbat, the drivers will stop at all the stops and cover the entire route - but the passengers will not be allowed to board.

That's what happened here.

The games continued as usual, people worked around and inside the hall - but the audience was not allowed to watch what was happening.

Why?

Because that's what the gentleman who sponsored the event decided (I won't write here his name or the reason why he sat in a Russian prison for several years because I'm quite scared, and if you search his name on Google you'll probably understand why, I'll just mention that he's a billionaire and his son is the owner of the most social network big in Russia and also of Channel 14).

Religious coercion aside, this is simply a stupid decision that makes Israel look like a primitive country.

Honestly, how can you seriously argue that she isn't?

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Haltura records were broken.

Chairman of the Tennis Association Avi Peretz with Yaakov Shahar in the stands (Photo: Barney Ardov)

But the truth is that after the dubious experience at the exhibition grounds yesterday, it's hard not to miss the days when the games were closed to the public.

The suspicion that something was wrong started already on the way to the hall, when over a thousand people crowded the entrance doors to the expo pavilion and asked to enter.

On the other side were bouncers who simply ignored them.

It looked like a particularly bad episode of "The Twilight Zone" until I happened to see Noam Okun, Israel's former No. 1 bat, explaining to a confused man that until the Idan Eshel game was over (which at this point had not yet started), the crowd would not be allowed in.

Does that sound a bit confusing to you?

So here is the explanation.

Yesterday, 9 tennis matches were played on two different courts - and the organizers decided to sell two types of tickets.

One ticket for 12 noon, which includes seven matches and another ticket for 16:30, which includes only two matches, one of which is Djokovic's match, which was supposed to start around six thirty, but because the early matches took longer than expected, The Serbian magician didn't get on the field until eight o'clock - and all the people with tickets for the afternoon games had to be taken out of the hall, to replace them with people with tickets for the late game.

Still confused?

That's okay, because not only was the crowd confused, so were the ushers, and in fact everyone running the event.

It's hard to believe that this is a real tournament, one that issues real rating points to real players.

People were walking around themselves in a kind of huge maze not knowing where they were supposed to go, when once you entered the hall there was no way to get out back to the buffet but only through the emergency exit outside the complex - and from there home.

With my own eyes I saw someone who wanted to go to evacuate and got stuck outside the hall without the possibility of returning.

To be fair, we note that this is not the first tournament that uses this method, in which tickets for the afternoon games and the evening games are sold separately and maximize the revenue from the double sale of tickets.

It's totally legit.

What is less legitimate is the method of selling tickets separately for one match (and another doubles match that almost no one stays to see until the end) just because a big star appears in it.

But even that was enough, the problem is that nowhere in the world will you see over a thousand people crammed into a crowded lobby to enter for hours.

Tournaments like this around the world are a huge happening of food stalls, merchandise and a lot of beer and a good atmosphere - with us somehow everything turned into nerves, pressure and a disgusting disorder.

As if the organizers were surprised that a crowd came to the field.

Maybe they thought the holiday was still going on?

It is hard to believe that a tournament that is organized in such a way actually earns real rating points.

Djokovic, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)

Inside the stands, people continued to search for their place for long minutes even inside the games itself, which disturbed the players - but it is difficult to complain to the audience, who simply could not find their place in the crowded and crowded hall.

When they finally found their place, the spectators who paid hundreds of shekels for tickets got to discover how bad the field's visibility is from the makeshift stands, when many angles of the surface became invisible from many seats that were designated as premium seats.

Half of the viewers also didn't get to see the signs showing the serving speed.

We are such a country.

One day the most expensive and successful Eurovision that Europe has ever seen is held here, and the next day one of the most disgraceful sports events ever held in the country is held in the exact same place.

The commercial company that took ownership of the event and pushed its name and its product everywhere on the court did gain a lot of publicity - but at the moment it is mainly associated with Partach.

There are not many sports in which it is customary to ask for forgiveness from the other player after a discounted point.

In tennis it happens.

A player hits the ball, which hits the top of the net and then falls to the right side - and the winner does not celebrate, but raises his hand and asks for forgiveness from the other player.

It is part of the gentlemanly code of this noble sport.

The members of the tennis association would do well if they remembered the beauty of their sport, and just before Yom Kippur they would ask for forgiveness from the people who came to celebrate one of the highlights of tennis in Israel - and earned an organization that is full of shame.

• sport

• tennis

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• Novak Djokovic