Serbia Open

44°49′46″N 20°27′05″E / 44.82944°N 20.45139°E / 44.82944; 20.45139

Serbia Open
Defunct tennis tournament
Founded2009
Abolished2022
Editions6
LocationBelgrade
Serbia
VenueNovak Tennis Center
(formerly: SRPC Milan Gale Muškatirović)
CategoryATP 250 (2009–2012, 2021–2022)
WTA 250 (2021)
SurfaceClay / Outdoors
Draw28S / 32Q / 16D (2009–2012)
28S / 16Q / 16D (2021–2022)
32S / 24Q / 16D (WTA)
Prize money€534,555 (2022)
WebsiteSerbia Open
Current champions (2022)
Men's singles Andrey Rublev
Men's doublesUruguay Ariel Behar
Ecuador Gonzalo Escobar

The Serbia Open (Serbian: Отворено првенство Србије / Otvoreno prvenstvo Srbije) was a professional tennis tournament, part of the ATP 250 series and the ATP Tour. Held in Belgrade, Serbia and played on outdoor clay courts, the event was held for the first time in 2009.[1] It was the first for Serbia, as the country had never before hosted an Association of Tennis Professionals tournament. The tournament was held as a combined men's and women's event in 2021. This marked the first time in history a WTA tournament was held in Serbia.[2] The last edition was played in 2022, after which the tournament moved for a one-year period to Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina and rebranded as Srpska Open.[3]

History

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The tournament was owned and run by the family of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, who through their company Family Sport purchased the ATP Tour date from the organizers of the Dutch Open in 2008, then arranged with the local city of Belgrade authorities for the plot of land where the venue was built, and convinced the government of Serbia under prime minister Mirko Cvetković to support the event through state-owned enterprises, primarily Telekom Srbija. At the time of their purchase in 2008, Djokovic was the World No. 3 player, having won his first Grand Slam title earlier that year.

Djokovic's uncle Goran Djokovic was the tournament director from its inception,[4] until he resigned the post in late May 2012,[5] a month after the tournament's 2012 edition. Novak Djokovic won the tournament twice, in 2009 and 2011. In 2013, Serbia Open was replaced on the ATP schedule by the newly established Power Horse Cup in Düsseldorf.

The tournament returned to the calendar in April 2021, replacing the Hungarian Open with its now new director, Djordje Djokovic.

The 2023 edition was replaced by the 2023 Srpska Open for one year as Djokovic' family was preparing the Serbian venue in order to apply for an ATP 500 status.[6] In March, 2023, Djokovic revealed that he wanted to buy the licence of owner Ion Tiriac but that Tiriac does not want to sell it, as to lease the licence is very profitable, and too expensive for the Serbia Open. The tournament is unlikely to be held in 2024 while Djokovic looks to lease or buy another licence.[7]

Past finals

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Men's singles

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Novak Djokovic, a record two-time winner of the tournament
Year Champions Runners-up Score
2009 Serbia Novak Djokovic Poland Łukasz Kubot 6–3, 7–6(7–0)
2010 United States Sam Querrey United States John Isner 3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–4
2011 Serbia Novak Djokovic (2) Spain Feliciano López 7–6(7–4), 6–2
2012 Italy Andreas Seppi France Benoît Paire 6–3, 6–2
2013–2020 Not held
2021 Italy Matteo Berrettini Russia Aslan Karatsev 6–1, 3–6, 7–6(7–0)
2022 Russia Andrey Rublev Serbia Novak Djokovic 6–2, 6–7(4–7),6–0

Women's singles

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Year Champions Runners-up Score
2021 Spain Paula Badosa Croatia Ana Konjuh 6–2, 2–0, ret.

Men's doubles

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Year Champions Runners-up Score
2009 Poland Łukasz Kubot
Austria Oliver Marach
Sweden Johan Brunström
Netherlands Antilles Jean-Julien Rojer
6–2, 7–6(7–3)
2010 Mexico Santiago González
United States Travis Rettenmaier
Poland Tomasz Bednarek
Poland Mateusz Kowalczyk
7–6(8–6), 6–1
2011 Czech Republic František Čermák
Slovakia Filip Polášek
Austria Oliver Marach
Austria Alexander Peya
7–5, 6–2
2012 Israel Jonathan Erlich
Israel Andy Ram
Germany Martin Emmrich
Sweden Andreas Siljeström
4–6, 6–2, [10–6]
2013–2020 Not held
2021 Croatia Ivan Sabanov
Croatia Matej Sabanov
Uruguay Ariel Behar
Ecuador Gonzalo Escobar
6–3, 7–6(7–5)
2022 Uruguay Ariel Behar
Ecuador Gonzalo Escobar
Croatia Nikola Mektić
Croatia Mate Pavić
6–2, 3–6, [10–7]

Women's doubles

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Year Champions Runners-up Score
2021 Serbia Aleksandra Krunić
Serbia Nina Stojanović
Belgium Greet Minnen
Belgium Alison Van Uytvanck
6–0, 6–2

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ ATP World Tour To Feature New Belgrade Tournament In 2009
  2. ^ Belgrado tendrá también un torneo de categoría WTA 250
  3. ^ "SRBIJA OSTALA BEZ TURNIRA U BEOGRADU! Kraj za "Serbia open", nije više ni u Banjaluci - nego u Rumuniji". Mondo. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  4. ^ Harman, Neil (2009-05-04). "The Net Post: Novak Djoković is glowing with pride at hosting his own tournament". The Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  5. ^ Srbija open pred gašenjem?;Večernje novosti, 22 May 2012
  6. ^ Ramchandani, Haresh (October 28, 2022). "Serbia Open moves to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023 as Djokovic family prepares for ATP 500 license". tennismajors.com. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Novak Djokovic: Probably no Serbia Open in 2024, Ion Tiriac wants his licence back
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