Testimony Gets Testy During Second Day Of ATP-Hamburg Trial

By Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

ATP Antitrust Trial Heats Up On Day Two

ATP ON THE OFFENSIVE: Ruskin himself was often chided by U.S. District Court for Delaware Chief Judge Gregory Sleet for his questioning, and at one point was told to stop editorializing. Ruskin also sought to undercut Hamburg's contention that it was never notified of plans for the demotion prior to the announcement. Citing meeting minutes from a '06 GTF meeting, Ruskin cited discussions among the federation's board members about changing the tournament status and date along the lines of what transpired. But von Waldenfels said, "From my point of view, if you ask it today, I'm not willing to be part of a cartel in which competition is thrown away. It's the wrong way for tennis in this world, even professional tennis." Much of the rest of the day was taken up by disputes about whether ATP bylaws allow for the organization to unilaterally downgrade an event. While the plaintiffs posted an ATP bylaw that seemed to show the ATP had acted against its own rules, the defense posted language from the contract for the '05 sale of the Hamburg tournament interest that seemed to by comparison allow for the right of the ATP to change the date and status.

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