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Madrid Masters goes bling

Tournament boss Ion Tiriac unveils new multi-million dollar diamond-encrusted gold trophy
Tennis Stories  08 Apr 2011 - 14:03 / by Stephen Kelly / reads 3767.
Source:
Ion Tiriac

Photo: Tiriac and his new trophy (Daylife)

Whether it be employing models as ball girls or undergoing a radical surface change from indoor hard to clay, the Madrid Masters has never exactly played by the rules.

Now the tournament has unveiled a new trophy made of 18 carat diamond-encrusted gold, that cost "several million" to make, according to Roland Alexander, the Swiss designer responsible.

The trophy bears the names of the previous winners of the tournament as well as that of the ever-modest event owner Ion Tiriac, the billionaire Romanian businessmen who partnered Ilie Nastase to the doubles title at Roland Garros in 1970.

"I had always wanted to create a unique trophy, just to show that our tournament, the Madrid Open, is different from other tournaments in the world, "said Tiriac.  

"We also needed the trophy that the winner takes home to be different," he added.

Tournament director Manolo Santana, the last Spanird to win Wimbledon before Nadal, is impressed anyway. "It's the most beautiful trophy I've ever seen," he said.

Beautiful? Or a hideously garish mess that resembles some sort of disturbing alien sex toy? Well see the picture above and judge for yourself.

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Comment from: carol Galiano - 09 Apr 2011 07:40
Dear Stephen, The name of the designer who created the statue is Roland Alexander Iten, not Roland Alexander as you state in the article above. Roland Iten is best known in the watch and jewellery industry as the "master of calibration" so no wonder he would choose to calibrate the history of tennis in making a trophy for the sport. The trophy is called the "Scala Dei" (stairway to heaven) and the small gold tennis rackets which comprise the staircase are named for the tennis players who have historically won the most grand slams in history. Hope this puts it in perspective for you.

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