Germans plan to appeal ruling in lawsuit vs. ATP

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HAMBURG, Germany -- The German Tennis Federation plans to appeal a ruling that cleared the way for the ATP Tour's planned tournament restructuring -- a move that would downgrade a tournament in Hamburg.

The federation said on its Web site that it aims to maintain the Hamburg tournament's status and assert unspecified damages.

A federal jury in Wilmington, Del., in August cleared the way for the Tour restructuring to go ahead next year. It rejected antitrust claims in a lawsuit the German federation filed with the Qatar federation as a co-plaintiff.

The restructuring would move the Hamburg clay-court event from May to July and eliminate it as a key tuneup for the French Open.

German federation president Georg von Waldenfels said in a statement posted Tuesday that "we want to maintain the value of the tournament and so are appealing along with the Qatar tennis federation."

It did not specify which court would hear the appeal or when it would be filed.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

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