Ion Tiriac has opted to play a low-key role in the tennis world following the controversy that surrounded the blue clay of the Caja Magica at the Mutua Madrid Open earlier this year. But the 73 year-old Romanian who guided the tennis careers of Boris Becker, Guillermo Vilas, Henri Leconte, Goran Ivanisevic and Marat Safin is ready to break his silence at the upcoming inaugural London Tennis Debate, sponsored by Credit Suisse.
Tiriac, whose net worth is estimated at between $2 – $2.2 billion will be one quarter of a panel of four that will debate at London’s Canary Wharf. He will be joined by 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, former player, current broadcaster and ATP World Tour board member Justin Gimelstob, and Janine Händel, chief executive of the Roger Federer Foundation.
The topic for discussion is entitled: ‘Beyond the Baseline – are players playing their part in society?’. The basic premise of the evening, staged during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, is to tackle some of the predominant issues surrounding tennis, philanthropy and the sport’s relationship with society today.
Tiriac was not available for comment about his involvement but Cash, an often outspoken tennis observer in the Sunday Times and with his own CNN television program, said: “I’m excited to be taking part in the first London Tennis Debate alongside such high caliber personalities from the world of tennis.
“What the likes of Roger (Federer), Andre (Agassi) and Andy (Roddick) in particular do to help improve the lives of those less fortunate is commendable, and I look forward to getting stuck in to some of the main areas where tennis can do its bit.”
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, blue clay, Ion Tiriac, London Tennis Debate, Mutua Madrid Open, Roger Federer, Spanish tennis news, Sports, tennis con arcilla azul, Tennis News, Tiriac