Tennis News

It is well known that the top ranked players on the tour are not motivated to play ATP 250 level events. Outside the Top 5, it is possible to find a sprinkle of high-level talent at these events, yet it will take more than a pretty penny to sway the Big Four with the Almighty Dollar.

French tournament director François Caujolle, who heads the Marseille Open – a 250 level event on the ATP World Tour – revealed that the top three players on the tour, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, seemingly cost approximately 1 million Euros.

“We were close to Roger Federer, but he wanted 75,000 euros,” said Caujolle (via ubitennis.com). “A few years later, we contacted Rafael Nadal, who asked for 300,000 euros. Subsequently, we tested with Novak Djokovic, who would accept only 400,000 euros. Today, however, you can’t have one of them for less than a million.”

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While inflation has clearly played its part, there is no denying that tournaments are in a tough position when if comes to analyzing a cost-benefit analysis. On one hand, brining in one of the top players will increase ticket sales, yet is it enough to make up for the hefty price tag? What if the top players gets injured and is forced to withdraw from the tournament?

However, Caujolle appeared confident that his tournament will one day host one of the top players.

“We will try to bring one of the top 3 in the next year.”

The Marseille Open is set to begin on Feb. 16.

Following suspicious actions earlier this week, the ATP World Tour is investigating an incident where a Tunisian tennis player retired from a match that he was winning, and would have lead him to an encounter against an Israeli in the following round.

The player in question, Malek Jaziri, took the first set off Denis Istomin in Round 1 of the Open Sud de France. He later retired from the match after he suffered an elbow injury and called for the trainer on two occasions.

This incident immedialtey took center stage, as in 2013, the Tunisian Tennis federation forced Jaziri to withdraw from am ATP Challenger match against Israeli opponent Amir Weintraub in Uzbekistan. This led to the International Tennis Federation placing a ban on Tunisia from the 2014 Davis Cup.

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After conducting their investigation, the ATP confirmed that the Tunisian’s retirement was indeed due to an elbow injury. The Associated Press first broke the story.

“Given a previous incident involving the player’s national federation in 2013, we are looking into any wider circumstances of his withdrawal as a matter of prudence,” the ATP said in a statement to the AP.

Here is Jaziri’s reasoning as quoted by Fédéric Bernès in l’Équipe (via @markalannixon)

“My phone is off, it’s not working. I haven’t received any orders or pressure. I’m playing Denis, he’s no piece of cake. I hadn’t looked at my next match, and even if I’d known … I got a golfer’s elbow at the Australian Open (reached the 3rd round). The travelling after, the time differences, that didn’t help. I’ve only hit the ball once in the last eight days. I took pain killers but I’m still hurting. Not so much when I hit the ball, but just after bringing the racquet back. It’s like a tendinitis in the forearm. You have to be smart in cases like this – I’ve got some big tournaments ahead in Memphis, Indian Wells, Miami and I didn’t want to run the risk of aggravating the problem. My cervical vertebrae really hurt this morning.”

It should be noted that over the past few decades, Arab countries have boycotted all forms of sporting events against Israeli opposition in protest for the harrowing situation unfolding in Palestine.

While the Australian Open proved to be a tournament that saw the tour’s respective No. 1 players lift the season-opening Grand Slam trophies, it was also a fortnight that brought with it the rise of a new face in American tennis.

Madison Keys, who last year became the highest ranked teenager on the tour, broke into the Top 20 on the WTA tour when she worked her way through a draw that included Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams to reach the semi-final stage in Melbourne. It was there, however, that her streak ended with a loss to eventual champion Serena Williams.

Although 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova was in Australia as the coach of world No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska, she could not help but be impressed with Keys over the fortnight.

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“Madison was hitting the ball so hard and so well,” Navratilova told EuroSport. “Basically, the match was on her hand; either she’d hit a winner or she missed. That is how you feel when you play against her – you feel like you are defending. Petra Kvitova was outhit, and I didn’t think I would say that about her unless it was perhaps Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.”

“It is big game tennis, and Madison Keys is the embodiment of that.”

Another player that impressed Navratilova immensely was Venus Williams, who rose to No. 11 on the tour following her quarter-final finish in Melbourne. She defeated Marisa Torro-Flor, Lauren Davis, Camila Giorgi, and Radwanska before falling to Keys in the final eight.

In fact, the Czech native believes Venus is more than capable of regaining a spot in the Top 10 if she continues to play at this standard.

“I think she could get back in the Top 10 if she keeps playing the way she did. She ran out of gas a little bit (in Melbourne) after playing two three-setters in a row. Her fighting spirit is just inspirational.”