Novak Djokovic intends to defend his title at Wimbledon and supports the decision by the ATP men바카라s tour to withhold ranking points from that tournament as a show of unity among players -- even though the move will negatively affect his hold on the No. 1 spot. (More Tennis News)
In response to a reporter바카라s question after his first-round victory at the French Open on Monday night, Djokovic called the All England Club바카라s ban of players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine 바카라a mistake바카라 and criticized Wimbledon organizers for their lack of communication.
바카라They haven바카라t discussed it with anybody from ATP or any individual players 바카라 or, for that matter, Russian or Belarusian players 바카라 to just communicate and understand whether there is a common ground where both sides could be making a compromise and something could work out,바카라 Djokovic said about the All England Club. 바카라So I think it was a wrong decision. I don바카라t support that at all.바카라
He called it a 바카라lose-lose situation for everyone.바카라
Russia, with help from Belarus, began attacking Ukraine in late February. The All England Club said last month it would not allow players from Russia or Belarus to compete when its Grand Slam tournament begins on June 27; the ATP and the WTA women바카라s tour responded by announcing Friday they would not award ranking points to any players for results at Wimbledon.
Djokovic said he heard there might have been other options available to All England Club decision-makers than has been revealed, such as the possibility of exhibition matches to raise money to help Ukrainians in need.
Djokovic has had his run-ins with ATP management in the past, and even worked to create a separate players바카라 association, but on this matter he said he backs the tour.
바카라Collectively, I바카라m glad that players got together with the ATP, the governing body of men바카라s tennis, and showed to the Grand Slam that when there is a mistake happening 바카라 and there was, from the Wimbledon side 바카라 then we have to show that there바카라s going to be some consequences,바카라 Djokovic said.
The ATP says that all players who earned ranking points at Wimbledon in 2021 (Djokovic earned the maximum 2,000 for taking the championship) will have those erased from their record as part of the usual 52-week system that counts someone바카라s best 19 tournaments over that span.
Whatever happens at the tournament in 2022 will have no bearing on a player바카라s standing.
바카라For me, or for the guys that did well last year, we are not only not going to have a chance to earn points, but we can바카라t defend them,바카라 Djokovic said. 바카라And there are some guys, obviously, who are not going to have a chance to earn points, of course. It바카라s a very unique and weird situation, I must say.바카라
Earlier in the day, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said she was leaning toward skipping Wimbledon with no points on offer. But Djokovic바카라s view was different.
바카라A Grand Slam is still a Grand Slam,바카라 said the owner of 20 such titles, one shy of Rafael Nadal바카라s men바카라s record. 바카라Wimbledon, for me, was always my dream tournament when I was a child. So I don바카라t look at it through the lens of points or of prize money. For me, it바카라s something else.바카라
