Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Organizers of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna were pleased with attendance at the newly-upgraded 500 level tournament.

Previously a 250 level event, the tournament saw 50,000 spectators during the week, an Austrian record. The quarterfinals on Friday attracted 9,100, despite the stadium having a capacity of 8,800, with standing room tickets sold to accommodate the heavy demand.

“It was the best confirmation of our efforts,” said tournament director Herwig Straka.

The figures were achieved despite the tournament not securing the participation of Roger Federer, who organizers contacted following his first-round defeat at Shanghai, and the first-round exit of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and local favorite Dominic Thiem. David Ferrer, the top seed, won the title. It suggests there is room for the tournament to get even bigger. There were few people on Monday, the opening day, and also a drop on Thursday.

“When Dominic or an even greater international name is present, then every day the hall could be full,” said the tournament director.

In addition, he would like to expand the second court, which seats about 1,000, to 2,000 or 3,000 people, noting that if the tournament could attract someone like Novak Djokovic, a player like Ferrer would be relegated to that court.

With the tournament now also attracting larger amounts of foreign visitors, notably from the Czech and Slovak Republic, a player like Tomas Berdych would also be a potential draw at the event.

Vienna bought its 500 sanction from Valencia, with the events exchanging their status levels.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.