2020 General Tennis News

The Professionnal Tennis World Torn Apart...

As if there was not enough turmoil in this world at present, Djokokic resigned as head of the ATP's Player Council, along with Pospisil, then made the following announcement today... a mess!  
 

Really not too sure about this union idea. I saw something somewhere yesterday that indicated the USA would not allow a union for tennis players - I forget why. There is an article in New York Times on this Union issue. I would myself listen to Roger and Rafa. I never quite trust ND to be sensible, sorry to say, and I wonder exactly why he is doing this. We know he worked to get Kermode kicked out of ATP committee and I thought he had then got the replacement person he wanted but there was some controversy over that person and now I see there's someone else again. Is the issue that ND and the "new man" can't get on? And as Andy M says, what about the ladies. Last I heard, there was the idea to link ATP and WTA. What has happened to that? 

Why is ND not including ladies? Did he discuss this with the ladies and perhaps they rejected it? Or did he not mention it to them? 

Re the matter of income for the very low ranked players, am I right that ND's union is only for the top 250 ranked players? If yes, what about the lower ranked players as they are the ones who are really suffering. 

It is though a problem when there are hundreds of men and women who want to play on the tours and hope they might "achieve". The ATP and WTA can't be expected to support every single person who wants to make tennis his career. Some will fall by the wayside or if they are wise, have a second career as well.

Yesterday I came across this long article
The carnival and the pros in tennis by Javier Palenque
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/carnival-pros-tennis-javier-palenque-3-minute-read-javier-palenque


First time I've seen this. I haven't read it closely but get the impression it's what ND and Pospisil may be going on about re their union?

Well, I still stay with Roger and Rafa. They are sensible, mature people. And as has been asked, if this union does threaten the ATP and the ATP folds, who will run the men's game then? It will be an unholy mess for a while. We had enough trouble when open tennis commenced, ,some years of havoc as the best players joined rival " tours" and some of them were then banned from playing the Majors - which infuriated some of us fans. It wasn't until the ATP got control with their Tour and players finally settled with them that tennis became really enjoyable again as we could actually see our favourites at eg Wimvledoin rather than finding only some of them could play and others we never saw at all as their "Tours" were eg only in the USA. With no internet then, we had no way of watching our favourites unless live somewhere or if they were ever shown on British TV for some reason.

^^
Im probably in the minority BUT Ive come to believe what "NOVAK WANTS NOVAK GETS"!!!

To Sriker. We'll find out in due course... It does depend why he wants it. Is it really to help low ranked players or because he has a secret agenda like wanting to take over (or destroy) the ATP or even that he himself wants to be in charge of the ATP?

Rosaline and striker, I am surprised that after the Adria tour anyone would seriously consider Djokovic's new plan. What's this about pensions, and so on, if I saw rightly in what was just a glance at the proposed idea? A union like association would not help the merit based structure. 
   Anything done by Djokovic tends to have a whiff of his "emperor" longing, I think. He wants to be pre-eminent in all areas, and this is just another way of achieving it. It would be Djkovic World if has his way.
  But he should not have his way. Imagine that a vaccine comes along for covid-19 and he encourages people not to take advantage. He is the one who was diagnosed by a Serb doctor with the glutein problem by having to hold a slice of bread against his bare chest. But first the doctor tried to push his lifted right arm down, and could not do it. 
Then, when Djokovic held the slice of bread against his bare chest, he again had to extend his arm and the doctor could fairly easily push down his arm. That was the scientific test which launched him on his glutein free diet.
 All sorts of things can happen inside the kind of union he has in mind. Exert influence for any number of reasons, be it political, etc. or a change of the game or a change of how the ranking system works.
 It would be a big mistake to let him take this route to find his need for being known and his route to power. Some players obviously don't fathom this and he has rather won them over.
 Djokovic is all for Novak, and his country. Early on he tried to exert influence after a US Open when he called a press conference to complain that players other than the top players don't get enough attention, and things in that vein. There was only a glimpse of that shown, but he was showing his ambitions. He had just lost to Federer, and this was a ploy for attention. He gets attention now, and he takes the center courts now, just like other top players.
 He will really get his head--ie. encouraged or enboldened even more-- if he gets away with it. And Federer and Nadal are right in that the situations is too volatile worldwide to have such changes now, if ever, in this vein.

I’m curious about the Union behaviors. If it came to pass, do you really think Djokovic would strike? How would his sponsorship be affected? Plus he doesn’t want women to have equal pay. I know that’s controversial on this forum, but says a lot about Nole. He has more money than he could ever spend, like Roger and Rafa. My 2 cents.

Javier Palenque, as per the above cited article (thank you for that) is selling his own consulting company. He reduced to tour to the kind that actually we all could reduce it to, by "buyers"  and "performers" and the whole carnival aspect, the ATP and the grand slams being major stops on the "carnival tour" and that the players are kept in the dark about how the whole thing works.
 Any venture, business, sport display of any kind can be reduced to such an analysis, and even medicine, of course. It does fall short of a full accounting. The tennis tournaments are also about bringing tennis players along and nurturing new players by providing appropriate venues for them to play This affects the Olympics, top, for some time.
 The attitude displayed is an aggressive one. Players have to have Palenquine's information so they can drive a hard bargain for their services and get a bigger share of the pie. This has been ongoing, I believe.
 How can players be playes if on top of other things they will have to worry about things like pushing the tennis venues and the organizations for more money, and other things. It makes sense to increase players' income, which happens on a periodic increase. However, tennis is not like a reallyh major sport such as soccer, or football and baseball and basketball in the US.
 And what the benefit to the game all this means is left out. Yes. players want more and deserve more, especially those nearer the bottom. Other considerations could come into play, such as support of some kind during injury for those who need it.
 It seems to me that those coming from countries that were originallhy not market drive may make some playes like the idea outlined by the market managers. It is not as promising as it seems. Tennis needs more nurturing in this climate of economies on the slide.
 Besides, the image of tennis is important also. That does not mean players should play for free, but also it does not mean that there should be a constant enmity between players and organizers and venue holders.
 It's best to hold on to what is there as there is no grand promise anyway of a hugely increasing market. Keep the sport alive and don't push it toward some kind of dissolution over union strikes or similar things or bad blood betwwen the different interests.

Well Djoker is so deeply frustrated by Fed and Nadal's popularity.He now has a chance to become a chieftain at the US Open while his two tormentors are away. May be he thinks they are not coming back. May be he plans to rule Serbia in the near future. IMO he is doing this to feeds his own sick ego and all his actions are self serving. 

While Roger shared an idea on line a while back of uniting men and women players. Djoker not only is against it but also is working on dividing the male players, at such historically difficult times all over the globe. I think this is going to make him more unpopular.

Stan and Magnus part ways! (again)

This time it sounds like it may be definitive though, but just before RG?!    

Murray joins the ATP Player Council - Anderson as new President

Please to see Murray joining the Council - I thought for a while that he might side with Djokovic. Murray joins Nadal and Roger, as three of the Big 4 are now on the Council. Djokovic must start to feel pretty lonely in his corner!  

And to Felix for getting involved - the youngest player of the group he represents (1-25 Singles), but very mature and should do well.

federerworshipper wrote:Well Djoker is so deeply frustrated by Fed and Nadal's popularity.He now has a chance to become a chieftain at the US Open while his two tormentors are away. May be he thinks they are not coming back. May be he plans to rule Serbia in the near future. IMO he is doing this to feeds his own sick ego and all his actions are self serving. 

While Roger shared an idea on line a while back of uniting men and women players. Djoker not only is against it but also is working on dividing the male players, at such historically difficult times all over the globe. I think this is going to make him more unpopular.

Hello,, federworshipper. I came back to your post because of the new player council members, and the fact that Djokovic had resigned. I have thought about ND, and it requires special consideration for me to be objective. I don't think he has a sick ago, despite my comments off and on. When I consider where he grew up and the history of that part of Europe, and for that fact, some other parts of Europe, it is not surprising. He is intelligent enough but he is held back and can't get beyond what history with its wars and inequalities not just in society but among the nations an changing status and insecurity over time has affected the thinking in many countries. Then, he grew up in a family environment that may have held on to some extreme views regarding naitonalism as well as resentment toward others powers in Europe. It is easy to understand if one onsiders the centuries and the events that took place. Perhaps they take it further than others, although in my own native land too there are problems and issues that stemmed from ward, devastationsm fight for freedom, and the overwhelmingly downtrodden status of many in society, i.e such as peasants, Then there are the losses of WWI. to be followed by WWII, which of course meant no Marshall Plan for my country, even though they did not start this whole white Aryan idea at all. Still there are people who have come to be curiously uninformed yet stubborn in their opinions. That is a strong influence, and a deep challenge for someone growing up within such mindsets to form an informed judgment of their own. As a person who defends my native land when ill-informed sources speak only of its shortcomings and fail to appreciate the very serious wounds inflicted against on the country or realize the role it played in Europe's history I know that it is a powerful puil. This kind of feeling is probably magnified in some other countries and there are not enough counterbalancing forces. Not that it has no grievances, but by now a new outlook also should have been formed rather than castigating other countries or governments. It is a sign of a hostile attitude, which on the surface appears friendly but at bottom it holds a reserve of resentment,
This is Djokovic's world. He had been influenced by Western thoght but originially only from the home groups and their values. He has learned of course, but is surprisingly resistant to look at his own ideation, attitudes and expectations. That could help him to see that he created the situation he is in by himself. Too much idolatry from fellow countrymanm the whole of Serbia, in perhaps a somewhat slavish style. Then he and circle created a kind of marketing/branding movement for him, and it was set up so he could rival Federer, and overcome him even. He had overestimate this whole marketing idea and had been aggressive and arrogant in many ways while he pursued his goals, which were centered not just on winning but also on displacing Federer to a great extent. That is why he is hurting, that this behaviour did not garner him what he had expected, but rather a bit of the opposite of the love and greatness, alhtough it is there, but he wanted more recognition in all areas and therefore it is not enough for him. And he thinks it is because he is from where he is, His family and country also thinks the same. He is a victim, and I am sure he still sees himself as one in a part of his soul. He could be a great influence in his country to instill a different sense of pride and goodwill, without that resentment so close to the surface.
It is not easy to do, as I have seen in my birthplace too, but there the influences have been present all along. So the outlook had been tempered, and also found strength from a long existence in Europe as an organized kingdom which gives the kind of exisential reassurance that individuals as well as peoples need.
I wrote in too roundabout a way and am too tired to revise and pare it down. I wish ND could review, take a comprehensive look at the forces that affected his people, and realize that they had not come out with a total loss. And there is pride of place in this area of tennis too that ND confers on them.
Not that he would have to do anything radical.The realization that in their haste some strivings and feelings about tennis and other players might have not been handled the right way, and that caused the problem. It has nothing to do with his origin. It is down to misplaced expectations and the behaviors that had wrought.
As I write this I realize that as much as had disapproved of many things about him, at the same time I must have also seen a touch of the characteristics of that part of the world, meaning central eastern Europe, and not the Balkans. Differing yet in some ways marked by history's vicissitudes. People there have been roughly shoved together for many many centuries, and while they are all different, some commonalities also show that history has had influenced all of them in that particular geography and life sphere.
He has to stop eating himself and instead open his mind, consider other people's situations and remind himself that despite his dissatisfaction he has done extremely well, and like others accomplished it on his own. He needs to develop a modicum of empathy for others. There is no reason he won't be liked, But he also needs the larger outlook also included in his makeup. Liking does not depend on rank, or dues fas a kind of booty of victory. or from persuasion. Ir he lets it, then it come him when he has found that bigger world.

There are indeed issues for Serbs as for eg Montenegrins, and all the others in the Balkans, due to centuries of "history". I'd rather not go into what I know of it just now as it's nearly supper time as I come to see this message above but indeed there ae some reasons why someone there will say something we might find strange but they have reasons due to their history. 

I'll look at this again tomorrow and see if I can add anything useful when I've reread the post just above. There's no question though that we all have to understand aspects of history before we can always know why someone else is saying something that seems odd to us initially. But on top of that there are for example ND's own personal views on things, or Roger's or Rafa's, or anyone's that may not be affected by some historical issues. It's a case of sifting between the two?

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