Tooting Gull
Well-known member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 11,033
Amazing and fairly surreal day at Wimbledon yesterday - the authorities have caused a lot of trouble for themselves with their first-round player prize money policy, and it all came to roost on Tuesday as some of you may have seen.
I think the thing to bear in mind here is value for money for a paying punter, and the show/experience of what is supposed to be the greatest tennis show on earth.
I had a ticket for Centre Court yesterday - bought it on Ticketmaster on Monday at 9am after queuing online for an hour, as anyone can do for the small number released every day. Felt very lucky, lifelong sporting ambition to see Federer on Centre Court before he packs it in, Djokovic too, and women's world No1 Kerber.
Now genuine injuries during a match are one thing, but players carrying serious injuries into a match against an all-time great on Centre Court with no realistic prospect of finishing, but refusing to pull out and lose £35,000, and denying someone else a chance who would at least have completed the match, is farcical.
Not once, but twice in 80 minutes this happened on Centre Court. And then twice more later on 16 and 17, both of which I also saw. I'll say that Feliciano Lopez on 16 around 8pm did get injured during the match, but since he had played for two and a half losing sets with it, he could/should have finished.
But of the others, three yesterday were not fit to play, and in the case of Klizan and Dolgopolov on Centre, they have ruined a great spectacle and damaged the brand of the sport and the tournament. With the best will in the world, people haven't come to see them, they have come to see Federer and Djokovic play a complete match, and/or a good match, and they have ruined it through pure self-interest.
For extra fun, the announcer said after the first retirement that the Federer match would start in 75 mins. Many fans left (luckily not me) and so missed the only set of that match when it started at 3.55, not 4.55.
It's really simple. For normal ATP events you can withdraw in advance and keep your prize money but allow the place to go to someone else. In grand slams, where the amounts are bigger, you forfeit the money. So the incentive to play without really giving a shit is there on a plate. If the players can't be trusted to do the right thing, then it must be imposed on them.
And I thought this before seeing any of the Federer/Djokovic comments saying pretty much the same thing.
As if four retirements in men's matches wasn't enough, I also watched a set of the Tomic match. You may have seen the interview, he was a disgrace on court, just didn't care and didn't try. He and Kyrgios have obviously been spending too much time together.
With some match-fixing problems lower down, and a growing issue with players 'tanking' even before this, tennis needs to get its act together.
I think the thing to bear in mind here is value for money for a paying punter, and the show/experience of what is supposed to be the greatest tennis show on earth.
I had a ticket for Centre Court yesterday - bought it on Ticketmaster on Monday at 9am after queuing online for an hour, as anyone can do for the small number released every day. Felt very lucky, lifelong sporting ambition to see Federer on Centre Court before he packs it in, Djokovic too, and women's world No1 Kerber.
Now genuine injuries during a match are one thing, but players carrying serious injuries into a match against an all-time great on Centre Court with no realistic prospect of finishing, but refusing to pull out and lose £35,000, and denying someone else a chance who would at least have completed the match, is farcical.
Not once, but twice in 80 minutes this happened on Centre Court. And then twice more later on 16 and 17, both of which I also saw. I'll say that Feliciano Lopez on 16 around 8pm did get injured during the match, but since he had played for two and a half losing sets with it, he could/should have finished.
But of the others, three yesterday were not fit to play, and in the case of Klizan and Dolgopolov on Centre, they have ruined a great spectacle and damaged the brand of the sport and the tournament. With the best will in the world, people haven't come to see them, they have come to see Federer and Djokovic play a complete match, and/or a good match, and they have ruined it through pure self-interest.
For extra fun, the announcer said after the first retirement that the Federer match would start in 75 mins. Many fans left (luckily not me) and so missed the only set of that match when it started at 3.55, not 4.55.
It's really simple. For normal ATP events you can withdraw in advance and keep your prize money but allow the place to go to someone else. In grand slams, where the amounts are bigger, you forfeit the money. So the incentive to play without really giving a shit is there on a plate. If the players can't be trusted to do the right thing, then it must be imposed on them.
And I thought this before seeing any of the Federer/Djokovic comments saying pretty much the same thing.
As if four retirements in men's matches wasn't enough, I also watched a set of the Tomic match. You may have seen the interview, he was a disgrace on court, just didn't care and didn't try. He and Kyrgios have obviously been spending too much time together.
With some match-fixing problems lower down, and a growing issue with players 'tanking' even before this, tennis needs to get its act together.
