Austrian Open dropped from ATP calendar after 65 years

VIENNA -- The Austrian Open -- a 65-year-old clay-court tournament -- has been dropped from the ATP World Tour calendar after a legal dispute with local authorities over the tennis stadium in Kitzbuehel.

The ATP said Friday that the tournament rights have now been moved to Nice, France, for at least the next five seasons.

According to tournament director Ronnie Leitgeb, the local city council of Kitzbuehel refused to sign an agreement on the terms of use of the stadium.

Leitgeb, who also manages Nikolay Davydenko and Jurgen Melzer, said a main sponsor for the tournament had already been found.

The traditional event in Kitzbuehel has been won by players like Pete Sampras, Thomas Muster, Goran Ivanisevic and Juan Martin Del Potro.

It's the second tournament in Austria in as many years to disappear from the calender after Poertschach was dropped last year. The BA Tennis Trophy in Vienna remains the country's only event on the ATP World Tour.