Tata Group unveils logo for Tata Open 2002
November 8, 2001

The Tata Group today unveiled the logo for the Tata Open Tennis Championships. Hosted by the city of Chennai for the sixth consecutive year, from December 31, 2001 to January 6, 2002, the tournament will showcase the talents of international tennis stars like Andrei Pavel, Thomas Johansson, Fabrice Santoro and Dominik Hrbaty to name a few.

The Tata Open logo graphically depicts a tennis player about to unleash a powerful backhand stroke. Rendered in an equally powerful brushstroke style, the logo is a fluid composition of simple black strokes on a white base with the Tata corporate blue as the dominant colour. The word ‘Open’ has been written in a warm, signature-like flourish. The Tata Group Composite Mark has been integrated into the graphic to symbolise the long standing Tata commitment to sports.

The logo symbolises latent energy waiting to be unleashed and draws a parallel with the dynamism and energy of the Tata Group.The backhand has been deliberately chosen to connote power. When taken in synergy with the graphic style of illustration, it creates a vibrant symbol for the championships.

Speaking at the occasion, R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons Ltd, said, “It is indeed a great pleasure and honour for the Tata Group to be associated with Tata Open. Our sponsorship of  Tata Open is yet another example of the Group’s longstanding relationship with sports in India. In fact, the Tata Group was the first industrial house to encourage sporting talent in India. This relationship has produced over a hundred sportsmen who have played in India’s colours at various international sports events. These include Davis Cup tennis players Premjit Lal and Jaideep Mukherji, four captains of the Indian cricket team, Saurav Ganguly, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri and Nari Contractor. We have been fairly successful in our endeavour to further sports — the Group has spawned 41 Asian Games winners, 32 Olympians and 28 Arjuna Award winners.”

Romit Chaterji, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs Department, Tata Services, said, “The Tata Open stands for the “Passion to Win”. This passion is exemplified by the hunger and energy of the players who will sweat it out in Chennai and is also mirrored by the focus of the Tata Group on excellence. This twin-prong commitment to excellence and sports has made the Group invest in bringing global sports to India. The Tata Open is India’s and South Asia’s only ATP International Series event and India’s largest annual global sporting event. This Championship will bring the best in world tennis to India. In fact, this is our second international sporting event this year. In May 2001, the Group brought to India some of the world’s best known names in tennis like Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, Vijay Amritraj and Henri Leconte to play at the Tata Tennis Legends Tournament in Mumbai.”

Ravi Krishnan, Joint Managing Director IMG/TWI South Asia, International Vice President IMG congratulated the Group, saying: "It is especially satisfying to IMG that the Tatas, a truly Indian business house, has chosen to sponsor the country's biggest annual sporting event .The Tata Open is the jewel in the crown of IMG's Indian operations and we are fortunate to have found a committed, knowlegeable and active sponsor in the Tatas. It is important that major international events are part of the Indian sports landscape and the Tatas have ensured that India will continue to be firmly entrenched on the global tennis calendar."

The Tata Open will kick off the run for the 2002 ATP Champions Race. In the past, the event has attracted some of the top international names in tennis including Boris Becker, Patrick Rafter, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Richard Krajicek and Carlos Moya. As many as 50 players from last year's ATP top 100 have played in the tournament in India over the last five years.