The ATP will add a fifth Asian tournament in 2009 and is in talks with several companies to replace Mercedes-Benz as a sponsor of the men's tennis tour, Bloomberg reports.
Brad Drewett, head of the international group at the ATP, which runs men's tennis, told reporters in Shanghai that the event will probably be hosted in a ``new market'' along with Bangkok, adding that a decision will be made in the next three months.
"The current importance to the ATP is the strategic value and obviously any organization wants to be strong in Asia right now,'' Drewett said. ``Everyone knows that in three years, five years, 20 years, this is the growth region of the world and we're trying to grow our brand and sport in the region as best way we can.''
The ATP's main Asian event next year will be the Masters 1,000 contest in Shanghai, which has Rolex Group as its main sponsor, Drewett said. The other cities are Beijing and Tokyo.
The ATP’s sponsor of the men’s tournament, Mercedes said last year that it would drop sponsorship of the Tour for other sports. Drewett told Bloomberg that the ATP hasn't set a timeline in its talks with ``a number of companies'' to replace the sponsorship, declining to name them as negotiations are proceeding.
