Andy Roddick, Andy Murray air grievances over hectic schedule – Tennis News
Meeting is expected between the top tennis men to discuss their grievances about the hectic schedule on the ATP tour. World no.3, Roger Federer, and World no.1, Novak Djokovic, have already pulled out of Shanghai Open and other players are also unhappy with the conditions in Shanghai Masters. Djokovic pulled out from the tournament to heal his back injury whilst Federer is taking six weeks off after a hectic northern summer.
Andy Roddick is the one of the leading tennis ace who has been most vocal in advocating the cause. He still hopes that the participants of Shanghai Open are still passionate about discussing issues and problems they are encountering during the tour and will sit down to resolve the issues rather than dismantle it in the flare of the event.
The major complaints have been about the length of the season each player has to feature and the number of tournaments each player has to play in one season.
These concerns took flight in the US Open when the tournament was contested in rain-soaked conditions. Players had to face a lot of trouble during the matches because the condition of the court and really tight schedules left them with no hope but to fear injuries. They couldn’t give their 100% in all matches as fatigue was clearly creeping in their game play. Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick had been the worst victims of these poor conditions. Nadal had to play three matches in three days that drained his stamina.
Roddick said "Obviously, you need the top players involved”.
He also stated that Djokovic and Federer were just a phone call away and stated “I don't think we're storming offices, but I think the sentiment is still there. I think it would be dumb of us to rush anything. If something like this does happen, we need to be smart about it and take our time and make sure that it's well thought-out and not be kind of reactionary. But, you know, there is a discussion going on."
An idea of creating a players’ union in tennis was put forward by Roddick who also mentioned that every other pro sport has this association so tennis should also form such association to facilitate the process of forwarding issues of tennis player to tennis regulating bodies.
Murray hinted the top players might go on a strike if this matter is not taken seriously and no advancement is made to release the pressure of hectic match schedule throughout the season. He said “"You have to have a voice in order to get it accomplished".
Roddick appealed to the players to join hands and get united on a single platform to fight for the right because nothing is going to happen if we continue to struggle on individual proposals. Players need to be on the same page to create an impact or the stand might become moot.
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