Coria fatalistic about the Santiago tournament: "South America doesn't have the same financial support as the tournaments in Dubai, Doha, and Acapulco."
On Thursday night, Federico Coria eliminated the last Chilean player from the Santiago tournament, much to the dismay of the crowd.
The Argentine defeated Alejandro Tabilo in three sets (7-6, 4-6, 6-3) and will face Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the quarterfinals.
At a press conference, the 32-year-old, ranked 136th in the world, was asked about the scheduling of the Santiago tournament.
In recent days, Nicolas Jarry stated that this was the worst week of the year to play the tournament, as it takes place the same week as two ATP 500 events (Dubai and Acapulco) and just one week before the first Masters 1000 on hard court at Indian Wells.
The Chilean also declared that for any player who is not from a South American country, there's no point in coming to play in Santiago, which occurs the week following the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
"We compete with Dubai, Doha, and Acapulco. Do you really think that if this tournament were on hard court, players would change their plans and be present in Santiago?
I don't think the best players in the world would come. At best, you might potentially have Bublik. South America doesn't have the same financial support that other tournaments have these weeks.
The Santiago tournament should be played during the first week of the South American tour (Buenos Aires, Rio, Santiago), so players aren't so exhausted when they arrive here.
The tournament organizers and the ATP can consider the possibility of playing during the week that Córdoba used to take place (a tournament which disappeared from the calendar this year), and those with a very good ranking could also have the opportunity to play Acapulco.
But I don't know, Nicolas Jarry could finish his tournament in Rio and then head to Acapulco," assured Coria to the media outlet Clay.
