American Danielle Collins has called Novak Djokovic’s stance of not wanting to play at the US Open because of its “extreme” rules a contradiction.
Djokovic had earlier called US Open’s proposed decision to play the tournament under changed rules too stringent and said he might miss the tournament because of that. The world number one also said he would look to make a comeback to the tour during the clay court season later in September.
However, this hasn’t gone down too well with Collins who said this was a brilliant opportunity for tennis to get back on track despite the obviously serious measures which would be taken for the welfare of the players.
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She went on to add on her Instagram story, Djokovic’s call to not play at the US Open because he wouldn’t be allowed his entourage a serious contradiction to his earlier attempt to help the players outside of the top 100.
Addressing her post to Djokovic, Collins added:
“No-one has been able to play sanctioned events or make money since February. Here we have an awesome opportunity with the US Open talking about proceeding forward with the event with some strict safety precautions to make sure all players feel safe and their health is put first.”
“This is a massive opportunity for players to start making money again and here we have the top player in the world saying only being able to bring one person will be too difficult because he won’t be able to bring his entourage.”
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Collins went on to say if the the environment allows and the two tours and USTA try their best to organise the US Open, the players should ideally be jumping on that opportunity.
Taking a further shot at Djokovic who had earlier tried to set up a fund for the players ranked outside of the top 100 by asking the top players to donate, Collins said:
“It’s easy when someone’s made $150 million to try and tell people what to do with their money and then turn down playing in the US Open.”
Highlighting the issues faced by lower-ranked players, Collins said most players do not travel with too many people anyway and they needed to get back to being employed again. She added it would make sense for the world number one supporting this cause “rather than spoiling the fun for players and fans!”
Even as tennis looks to get back to normalcy, there has been a sense of unease between the players, between the so-called haves and have-nots.
Earlier, even Rafael Nadal had expressed his displeasure over playing without fans in the stadium which was supported by Petra Kvitova. Neither player, however, explicitly said they would miss the tournament as a result of these measures.
The big worry which Collins hasn’t directly mentioned in her post is with Roger Federer having called off his season because of a knee injury and with players like Djokovic having expressed their reservation about playing, it might make USTA’s decision to cancel the tournament easier.
Top tournaments like the US Open need the big players to take part and with most competitions expected to lose money if spectators aren’t allowed inside, the loss of players like Federer and Djokovic would be telling.
And in turn, it could have a cascading effect on the players down the rankings chart.
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