Tennis ACT chief Kim Kachel says the Canberra International can be elevated to fill a void in the calendar for middle-tier players en route to the Australian Open.
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Lleyton Hewitt has lauded the addition of the ATP Cup to the summer schedule but concedes there is now a gap in the market for those who missed the prestigious teams tournament.
The ATP Cup led to the demise of regular men's tour events in Sydney and Brisbane, with Kachel adamant the capital can fill a bigger slot on the calendar.
It comes after Philipp Kohlschreiber claimed the men's Canberra International with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 triumph over Emil Ruusuvuori in the final in Bendigo on Sunday.
Poland's Magdalena Frech claimed the women's crown after top seed Patricia Maria Tig withdrew ahead of the final due to injury.
Frech did not drop a set throughout the entire tournament as she sets her sights on the Australian Open.
The Canberra International was shifted to Bendigo due to the hazardous air quality and smoke haze engulfing the region in recent weeks.
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But Kachel is confident the capital could handle bigger events having already hosted the Fed Cup in front of thousands at the Canberra Tennis Centre in 2018.
"Canberra has a great reputation for running world class events now and this event was supposed to be Canberra's best ever," Kachel said.
"It was elevated in status and boasted eight top-100 players, guys that have been top 25 in the world. The players are showing they're really supporting the event.
"We were really looking forward to hosting it, it was really unfortunate we had to move it but it was the right decision to be made.
"We've got a whole heap of messages from the players saying how much they appreciate the fact the event was moved and went ahead.
"It allowed them to compete and get vital matches in prior to the Australian Open.
"They've been super supportive and appreciative. At the end of the day, it is just a tennis event and our thoughts are with those affected by the bushfires."
Those affected were never far from Kachel's mind after tournament officials opted to join the Aces for Bushfire Relief campaign, which has been spearheaded by Canberra's Nick Kyrgios.
The campaign saw $100 for every ace go towards the Australian Red Cross - not a bad haul when 997 aces were hit during the tournament and gold coin entry fees went towards the cause.
"We will have certainly raised in excess of $100,000 towards that fundraising campaign which is just fantastic," Kachel said.
"We raised a hell of a lot of money. Certain players made their own individual pledges on top of that and really got behind it.
"They were very understanding of the situation and their thoughts are very much with those in the fire affected communities."