Djokovic against the ATP - Federer, Nadal, Melzer strike back
Novak Djokovic , Vasek Pospisil and John Isner have thrown the tennis world into turmoil with their push to found a new players' union. There is uncertainty within the tennis scene. And incomprehension.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Aug 30, 2020, 08:09 am
The baseball players union is considered the most powerful of the four major US professional sports leagues. Whenever a new collective agreement is negotiated, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) flexes its muscles. The test of strength with the team owners can lead to a strike - like in 1994, when the season was simply canceled in mid-September.
Compared to the influence that professional tennis players enjoy within the ATP, the representatives of the MLBPA look like a couple of rebellious rascals. Every decision that is made within the ATP is approved by the players' council. And this is traditionally very prominent: Until a few days ago, Novak Djokovic, the number one in the world, was at the top of the Players Council.
Djokovic wanted to bring Gimelstob into position
How powerful Djokovic was in this position was shown not so long ago when the question of the contract extension of ATP boss Chris Kermode was revealed. They knew how to prevent the players, and Djokovic should have played a leading role in the rejection. His preferred candidate for the successor, Justin Gimelstob, suffered such a serious dropout in his private life that the US-American could no longer be placed as ATP boss.
So the choice fell on ex-professional Andrea Gaudenzi, for whom fate in the form of the corona pandemic placed an unprecedented task in his lap. There is no question that Gaudenzi did not necessarily cut a good figure: On the one hand, because the Italian could not bring himself to forego part of his salary, while many of the protagonists on the ATP tour were fighting for their financial existence. In terms of communication, too, a lot was going in the wrong direction. Jan-Lennard Struff and Karen Khachanov had noticed this at the “Thiem's 7” exhibition match in July in Kitzbühel.
Melzer remains in the players' council
But now Novak Djokovic has thrown the gauntlet at the ATP again, followed by Vasek Pospisil and John Isner. Milos Raonic also announced his intention to join the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) (also on the grounds that the highest representatives of the ATP would not have waived their salaries). How many players from the top 100 will actually take this step can only be speculated about at the moment. Especially since the intentions of the PTPA are still in the dark for some players.
Jürgen Melzer, a member of the ATP players' council, doesn't know much more either. The veteran, however, has little understanding for the fact that, of all times, not everyone is standing together at this difficult time for tennis. "And I think it's a shame that Andrea Gaudenzi is not given the time to implement his visions formulated in early 2020," Melzer told tennisnet. In any case, he is still a member of the Players Council - and will remain so.
Rafael Nadal shares the same horn as Melzer: Right now, unity is the order of the day. Daniel Evans reported from the bubble in New York that he was very satisfied with the work of the ATP. And won't join the new union.
Roger Federer, who like Nadal is not in the bubble in New York, could not be missing.
On Saturday evening, Melzer, Nadal, Federer, Kevin Anderson, Bruno Soares and Sam Querrey went on the offensive as remaining members of the ATP Player Council - and asked questions that affect all players in a broadcast, such as the effects on player pensions , the detailed economic outlook based on a business plan, which is still heavily dependent on the organization of the tournaments by the ATP, and much more.
ATP and ITF are alerted
A few hours later, however, Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil gathered the interested players and announced the successful founding of the PTPA via Twitter. The response seems to be good, if not consistently.
In any case, the big players are alarmed: Both the ATP and the tournament in Wimbledon hurriedly distributed statements on Saturday in which they, like Federer, Nadal and Melzer, underlined that in times of crisis, unity in the tennis circus is the most important good.
In any case, the fact is: the disagreement has never been greater. Herwig Straka, tournament director of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna and member of the ATP board, still hopes for an amicable solution. He would not understand the task of giving up the privileged position that the players enjoy in the ATP in favor of an organization that is no longer involved in the important decisions on the tour, Straka told tennisnet.