Korolev: "The Rules Were Known Before the Tournament"

Korolev has finally spoken and given a time line. Everyone knew what Del Potro's retiring would mean.

Apparently an emergency meeting of the Player's Council was held in Dubai. The player's voice was Roger Federer.

This translation was posted on menstennisforums.com

Russian speakers have vouched for it's accuracy after reading the original Russian language interview.

It's in Russian originally but here are some quotes from Korolev interview to "Sport-Express":

"The rules were known before tournament' start. Yes, they are complicated and far from optimal, I believe. I knew if del Potro retired I would advance to the quarters... I was following the match via internet and when Blake had led 6-1 1-0 I was off to the club to receive prize money and papers for next tournament. And all of sudden I met del Potro who said, "You are through". "How? What happenned", I asked. He said, "I have breathe problems".

"Then I came up to James and said, "Sorry but that's it". He replied, "They are still discussing". "Discussing what?" "Who's gonna advance." "But according to the rules it's me, isn't it? If I am wrong then I accept it cos it's really not fair towards you".

"Later I've been told Blake got angry after the match and went to supervisor to appeal the rules. Of course he was leading and should win eventually but rules are the rules. Also I've been told ATP chairman changed them by one phone call and decided James would play.

"I was unhappy with that decision, of course. And I was supported by Safin, Hewitt and Johansson. I wanna thank Marat especially. He came to me and said, "Come with me. We need to solve all this". He very softly told them everything he thought of this situation. He asked them how could they do that and who gave them a right to change the rules mid-tournament?
"I also got in touch with my agents and they helped me too. One of them woke me up at 5 a.m. and said, "You will play". At 6 a.m. Mark Derby called me and said de Villiers changed his mind in my favor. The next one who called me was de Villiers himself. He apologized and said he did what he thought would be the best thing.

"They had meeting in Dubai with Federer and other guys taking part in it. All of them said it was me who should play by the rules. They contacted de Villiers and came to conclusion nobody was allowed to change the rules in the middle of tournament.

"I haven't met Blake since Thursday when we both still thought he came through. I told him I couldn't be satisfied obviously but wished him luck for the rest of tournament.

"I don't want to discuss whether Blake was right or not. The fact that James talked to the officials and probably phoned to ATP was kind of natural decision. He stated the rules had a hole. What else could he do? Anyway, I hope we got each other right."

http://www.sport-express.ru/art.shtml?135413

Leaving Las Vegas

Yesterday I wrote about Etienne de Villiers falling on his sword and reversing what was undoubtedly the worst decision for men's tennis in recent memory. I also wrote about James Blake’s seeming unawareness that as a player rep he is supposed to uphold the letter of the law when it comes to how players and management interact. I wonder what they’re teaching those folks at Harvard? Things seemed to be simmering down when I posted my thoughts and I went about my day thinking everything was settled.

But I was wrong. It seems de Villiers did not fall on his sword mouthing “mea culpa” voluntarily but that he was pushed. Ironically it was not by the Vice President of the Player’s Council but the very players whose views the Player’s Council is supposed to represent. Despite their conciliatory public remarks both Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin are said to have threatened to pull out of the tournament if de Villiers didn’t reverse his decision. Russian tennis guru Shamil Tarpischev is also said to have expressed his opinion. Since Marat and Lleyton were the other two semi finalists one can only imagine the weeping and gnashing of teeth that took place among the powers that be in the ATP. I’m sure the hallways of ATP headquarters were full of men and women dressed in sackcloth and covered with ashes while they waited for their leader to make the only logical decision he could make. I’m told the sword wound is superficial and should heal nicely.

Good for them and the other players who are also said to have read the riot act to the numbskulls trying to perpetrate this particular fraud. It seems the players are going to have to stand up for themselves when and if this situation arises again. Twice in as many weeks is a bit much no?

Adding fuel to the fire the reigning Prince of Tennis also spoke out. He didn’t say much about the situation last week in Buenos Aires where another player, Juan Carlos Ferrero, showed he has a moral compass and refused pretty much the same offer the ATP made to James Blake but after he was asked about it he had plenty to say.

"Everybody knows I was against it (the round robin system) in the first place," said Federer. "It's actually very disappointing to see things like this had to happen first before you realise that the system is not going to work.

"Nothing against Etienne de Villiers, he's trying his best, but all I hope is he doesn't change the integrity of the game.

"I've always said you have to keep tennis the way it is and not try to change and mix it up and try too many things at the same time. He's burned his hands on that, that's for sure, and I doubt it's going to happen next year, the round robin system.

"It's going to be interesting to see their (the ATP's) reaction now because they're definitely under pressure. I think it's a bad situation that happened."

http://www.eurosport.com/tennis/atp-dubai/2007/sport_sto1104980.shtml

Roger has been against the round robin system and has said so before. It must burn de Villiers because his brain trust came up with the round robin idea so that paying fans would get to see the likes of Roger, Rafa, Roddick, Blake, Davydenko and other stars more than once during an event. It didn’t matter that this shafted the lower ranked players like Korolev or Lapentti because frankly who cared the reasoning had to have gone. I guess it didn’t occur to them that everyone in the top five was once a struggling up and coming player. Until Roger Federer beat Pete Sampras no one was paying much attention to him. With the changes the ATP is contemplating up and coming Roger doesn’t even get to play the then Prince of Tennis Sampras.

I wanted to post the ATP’s official statement which had been posted on www.tennischannelopen.com but it’s no longer there. I went to the ATP site and I didn't see it there either. Fortunately mmmm8, one of the posters at talkabouttennis.com did post a link to the official statement. I tested the link, it still works. I also saved a copy just in case the link stops working.




http://www.tennischannelopen.com/atp_statement.aspx



Here is the link to the public comments by Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt along with the only timeline I’ve seen. It’s a long read but it’s worth it.

http://tennisworld.typepad.com/travelblogue/2007/03/merrygoroundrob.html

I also tested this link and it works.

I’m not sure why the official statement was removed from the Tennis Channel Open website. I thought it was a sign that someone at the ATP understood the cloud over the tournament and men's tennis and thought it best to give fans the ATP perspective at the source so to speak. Maybe they had second thoughts in light of what was coming out. I don’t know. I do know that both Nicolas Lapentti, who is coming back from injury and Evgeny Korolev got to play as far as they could in the tournaments they entered which is what tennis is all about.

The ATP by removing their official statement from the web site of the tournament that was affected is sending the wrong message to both players and fans. I don't think this is quite what Roger had in mind when he spoke about waiting to see the ATP's reaction. It is an interesting one, but not one that enhances the decisions made by the ATP brass.

As for Blake I hope he is heeding the calls of his fans. James' fans have been openly pleading with him to stop talking because his comments are making it hard for them to defend his actions in this situation. The comments made by one of his peers about Blake, instead of being forgotten, are now back in the tennis public's awareness. They were not flattering and James' actions here have thrown dirt on his pretty much squeaky clean image.

I didn’t think this situation would result in three posts but apparently there’s no end to the ATP Follies.

As the situation warrants I’ll return to the subject.

Image Is Everything

The ATP will be leaving Las Vegas on Sunday. I’m sure that they wish that the Sin City slogan about what happens in that town staying in that town could be used as an incantation to take the ATP back to the end of the James Blake vs Juan Martin del Potro match. I’m willing to bet tons of virtual money that they wish that despite the pleas of the top seed, Blake in this instance, someone had had the cojones to tell him get to stepping and to take his elimination like a man and that no midnight calls to Mr. Disney who was in Portugal at the time had been made. That way the event flows smoothly and tennis heads are looking at Evgeny Korolev and wondering if he’s got the intestinal fortitude to make it into the top ten of his sport while savoring a semi final between Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin, one the most hated player and one who everyone, male or female, eight to eighty, blind, crippled or crazy, wants to wake up to.

But we all know this isn’t the Magic Kingdom and a mere wave of a wand is not going to put the evil genie back in the bottle or send the wicked king away. Instead we have the spectacle of the vice president of the Player’s Association making the following statement:

"What I thought was that a common-sense overrule took place. But if we have to go by the letter of the law, I’m okay with that.”

http://tennisworld.typepad.com/travelblogue/2007/03/another_twist.html

People dog Andre Agassi about the old Canon campaign which featured the slogan “Image is everything” but as is often the case in our hot house media driven sports culture all an athlete has is their image. For obvious reasons every fan of an athlete, especially in an individual sport like Tennis, can’t be allowed unlimited access to their favorite. Fangirls and fanboys rely on web sites, message boards, and pictures of their favorites to draw conclusions about them. IMG and other image makers are paid huge fees to craft a positive image for the athletes they represent.

Not only individuals are involved in the image game. The ATP and WTA also spend millions to make their leaders appear to lesser beings as demi gods whose pronouncements from on high will raise the level of fan participation to higher and higher levels. The debacle this week did damage to a player and the organization behind him.

This player is not an ordinary player. For years James Blake was a “journeyman” , a guy who would enter an event, make a little noise in the early rounds and then politely give way as soon as he played a higher seeded player. Two years ago he suffered a series of tremendous body blows. He lost his father to illness and then suffered an accident which affected his neck. On top of that he came down with Shingles. When he came back on the tour everyone wanted to give him a break and James responded to that increased support. The level of his play rose and despite some misguided “happy to lose” comments he stopped losing to the big guys without much of a fight. By the end of 2006 by doing well at lower tier events he had cracked the top eight and went to Shanghai where he exceeded all expectations. All of this gained him fans and increased exposure. He reportedly lobbied hard for the post of vice president of the Player’s Council and was elected to that position. In that position it is his job to represent the player’s views to management. This includes upholding the Rule Book and forcing management to deal with not only the spirit but the letter of the “law” as defined in it.

By making the above statement Blake has done serious damage to the tacit agreement about image and the player. The wall of “image” came crashing down and what has been exposed is a not too pretty picture of Mr. Blake. When faced with a similar offer by the ATP in Argentina the week before Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who has been in a horrible slump, refused it saying he did not want to advance in that manner. Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt both issued withering comments about Blake’s stance.

The only person to suffer worse damage than Blake is Etienne de Villiers, the leader of the ATP. Faced with a public relations disaster to his credit he bit the bullet, did a mea culpa which included him saying he was half asleep half a world away and wasn’t clear on what was happening. He reversed is initial decision and thus allowed Evgeny Korolev to advance to the quarter finals in Las Vegas. He has now said that he thought he was doing what the fans wanted. Blake has lots of fans. Korolev is an up and comer from Russia known only to hard core tennis fans. I don’t think it takes Dr Preston Burke to figure out that the TD of the event probably figured into this equation. The TD figures Blake puts more fannies in the seats and probably wanted Blake to advance as well. Blake’s role in these tawdry events is being actively debated on tennis message and fan boards. If I’m his media advisor I tell him to keep quiet while I create the proper words for him to say. The statement I quote from the article in the Tennisworld blog makes it clear that Blake felt the rules should be bent for him. I think that ends the debate about what his role in this was.

The Player’s Council and the ATP board will be meeting in Miami to discuss not only what happened but what to do about Round Robin play. I like Round Robin for the TMC year end event. There are only eight men playing. The conditions are controlled. You don’t have the vagaries of regular tournament play where a player can become injured or ill and upset the apple cart. I was willing to give it a chance this year but it seems that players conspiring against other players did not take the form many fans, and players, thought it would. When a player can’t rely on his elected representative to do the right thing the entire purpose of the Player Council is defeated.

Here is a list of the members of the Player’s Council. I think this meeting in Miami will be closely monitored by the press and the fans of this great sport.

Ivan Ljubicic - President
James Blake - Vice President
Olivier Rochus and Thomas Johansson - 1-50 Singles
Paul Goldstein and Davide Sanguinetti - 51-100 Singles
Bob Bryan and Kevin Ullyet - 1-100 Doubles
Martin Garcia - At Large
David Adams - Alumni (non voting)
Ricardo Piatti - Coaches (non voting)

http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/media/reports/06_President.pdf

I’m not a player. I’m not male. But I have a strong feeling Mr. Blake will not be re elected to his post next year. And who can blame his peers? Image, in professional sports, is everything and Mr. Blake has destroyed his all for the sake of a tournament that in the scheme of things is simply a tune up for the main events of Indian Wells and Miami. I know that Blake needs this event, it’s the type of event he wins to keep his ranking up. An athlete is an inherently selfish being and I have no problem with that. I thought that the reason professional athletes have agents and managers is to make sure the person behind the curtain doesn’t get revealed to his or her public and fans.

I've already said that the shenanigans of the last few days should sound the death knell for round robin play during the regular season. Like everyone else I'm going to be waiting to see what happens at that meeting in Miami later this month.

The Death of Round Robin Play

The Death of Round Robin Play

“...The ATP could not organise an orgy in a brothel with a garbage bag full of $100 bills.”

An angry fan on www.mentennisforums.com

Round Robin play ended as an option in the ATP on a quiet Thursday evening in March. It came about because Juan Martin del Potro, a young Argentine who is on a lot of people’s radar felt ill and retired down 3-1 in the second set of his match. What difference did it make you may ask? Players retire all the time. The reasons are always the subject of hot debate among tennisheads but that is part of the game.

But this retirement was different. Again a casual fan may ask why? It has to do with the Round Robin format Mr. Disney was experimenting with this year. See James Blake lost his first round match to a Russian man Evgeny Korolev 6-2, 6-4. That score is important. Del Potro then beat Korolev 6-3, 6-2. Within their group the rank was as follows:

Del Potro – Won 1 match Winning percentage 70.6%
Korolev – Won 1 match Winning percentage 48.6%
Blake – Won 0 match Winning percentage 33.3%

Keep in mind Blake was the top seed in this event. Today Blake won the first set 6-1 and was up 3-1 when del Potro retired due to what sounds like a serious medical condition. So Blake is through right? Wrong. Blake was out because the retirement was not counted as a win. There was a little something to do with how many games Blake won against or surrendered to Del Potro (I seem to remember the number 5 being in there somewhere)But the match didn’t complete and he was out.

The message boards would have been lit up for days about the idiocy of round robin play but the rules are the rules and Korolev was on his way to the normal round of play. Nice situation for him.

Except that the ATP had a conference and decided to throw the rule book out. Blake was declared in and Korolev, who played by the rules, was on his way to his next tournament.
I wonder if some Supreme Court justice weighed in on the matter just to make it more like Florida in November 2000.

When this format was first proposed Lindsay Davenport said that you would see matches being thrown. Of course this conjured up images of players huddled in dark locker room corners conspiring against other players they might not like so that a mutual friend could get through. Who thought the cabal would be a bunch of suits in a conference room?

I don’t like Round Robin. I like it as a gimmick at the TMC so that fans get to see their faves more than once. I don’t like it as part of regular competition. This miscarriage of justice reeks to high heaven. The ATP is not a beloved organization to begin with. Many non American players feel that it favors the players from the United States at the expense of other players. Andy Roddick’s US Open win is still suspect in many quarters because of the gyrations tournament officials went through that appeared to ensure that Andy had enough rest at the expense of European players. This decision will not only revive that kind of talk but will increase anti American sentiment among non American players. If the situation had been reversed I doubt Mr. Disney would have made this ruling.

What should have been done? Nothing. Blake was out. Let him stay out. Two majors are coming up, the Pacific Life Open and Miami. Plenty of time for James' fans to see their favorite. By doing this the ATP has ensured that any player who doesn’t like a call, the outcome of a match, or the color of his opponents outfit can pitch a bitch and be heard. Throw a racquet? So what? Curse the chair ump? Hey, it’s an American thing. Insult, spit at or moon your opponent? So what? Rules are fluid and can be adjusted to suit whatever ails you. Just be born in the lower 48 and manage to be the number one seed. Your wish is our command.

Thank you Mr. Disney.