In a few days, World number 1 Novak Djokovic will begin the hunt for his sixth title at the year-end ATP Finals World Tour. The Serbian champion, albeit in a particular year, has won four tournaments and finished for the sixth time in his career at number 1 in the ATP ranking, thus equaling the record of the American legend Pete Sampras and overcoming his greatest rivals, firm in odds 5, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic’s latest Finals success came in 2015 while he has lost the final twice since, in 2016 and 2018. The PTPA, led by Novak Djokovic, is currently in talks with Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens and many other players.
The Serb explained that the new association only wants to protect the rights and welfare of all tennis players.
Djokovic on the new association
“We are talking to a lot of players at different levels, like Serena and Sloane, but also lower ranked to see how we form a new structure taking into account how unstable everything is now in terms of the schedule,” Novak Djokovic said.
“We are also in talks with the ATP and what we will do with the WTA to see how the PTPA is integrated into the ecosystem,” Djokovic continued. “We do not want to have an aggressive approach as has been said”.
The Serb then revealed that ‘hundreds of players’ had complained about the existing system prevalent on both the ATP and the WTA tours. Djokovic wants all such grievances to be addressed, and he believes the PTPA is the best platform to do that.
“We want players of all levels to be heard and their problems taken into account, especially since hundreds of players complain about the current system,” Djokovic asserted. “There are objectives and the first thing is to position oneself,” Djokovic explained.
“It is a long way. I understand that there is criticism, because people he wonders if this is the right move or if it is a way to divide tennis. But for us it is not like that, our value and our essence is to improve”.
Novak Djokovic also brought up the financial issues that have crept up in the sport due to the COVID-19 pandemic, because of which the lesser-ranked players have been deprived of a consistent income. The Serb feels it is imperative to help such players out.
“The worst thing is that next season is unpredictable,” Djokovic said. “It is not in our hands now what happens, but in the hands of the governments of the countries. There are constant negotiations, financial issues.
For tennis it has been great to be able to compete with the best. But those who are below in the ranking, from 500 to below, are suffering a lot and need help to provide tournaments and be able to compete for a living. It is a very complex situation.
