Valencia Open won't take place next year, director says

MADRID (Reuters) - The Valencia Open will not take place in the city next year because of a dispute between organisers of the indoor hard court event and the regional government, tournament director Juan Carlos Ferrero said on Sunday. Ferrero, a former world number one born in the region, said he was "very disappointed" that an agreement with the government had not been honoured and they were considering renting or selling the licence for the event, which has been running since 2003, to another city. "We feel we have been deceived," Ferrero told a news conference after Sunday's final, in which Portuguese Joao Sousa defeated Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. "In 2014, there was an accord with the previous administration and it was not honoured and we feel deeply deceived by the new government," added the 2003 French Open champion. "It's not state aid or a subsidy, it's a commercial agreement, an accord that benefits the administration financially. "This tournament was a gift for the Valencia residents but we have to move on. "I am very upset. It was me who bought the tournament many years ago with the understanding it would have a future." (Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Martyn Herman)