Novak Djokovic and the ATP Tour have rarely been singing from the same hymn sheet and the events of the last few days are unlikely to improve relations.
As Djokovic delayed confirming whether he would play in the ATP Finals in Turin, tournament organisers were left to scramble together a pre-tournament plan that left them in a challenging position.
We need to appreciate how big a moment in the year this is for the ATP Tour.
For the organisation that runs the men’s tour, the eight-day event at the end of the season is bigger than any of the Grand Slams, as this is the one tournament they have full ownership of and it generates millions in revenue for them with sponsors and broadcast agreements.
The eight players who qualify to compete are lavishly paid for their appearance, with a player who wins all five of their matches over the next few days walking away with $5,071,000, the richest payout in the event’s history for a non-exhibition event.
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Part of the deal to earn that cash is making appearances at pre-tournament events, completing a lot of media duties and doing what is requested to promote the event at the ATP Tour.
Djokovic’s actions over the last few weeks have severely damaged the ATP’s efforts to promote their marquee tournament, as he delayed confirming whether he would play and only confirmed he was not heading to Turin the evening before the event was due to get underway.
Djokovic’s announcement that he wouldn’t play in Turin after he won the ATP 250 event in Athens was not a surprise, as it seemed highly unlikely that a player who has not played a full tennis schedule over the last few years would rush from Greece to Italy to play in a tournament he also pulled out of last year.
The question is, when did Djokovic decide that he was not going to take up his place at the ATP Finals?
If we are to believe his version of events, he only decided not to play in Turin after a long match against Lorenzo Musetti in the Athens finals, but some will suspect he was never going to compete against the best in men’s tennis in what is a gruelling event.
As he refused to reveal if he would play, the draw was made with Djokovic’s name included and his decision to withdraw has left an imbalance in the groups.
He also left Musetti and Felix Auger-Aliassime waiting as they pushed to qualify for the ATP Finals, with both now set to compete after Djokovic’s announcement created an extra place in the draw.
Djokovic was asked about his ATP Finals decision time and again in Greece as he progressed through the tournament and always declined to answer, but he would have needed to make a lot of plans if he was going to fly from Greece to Italy in double quick time and it would be interesting to know if those plans were ever put in place.
While Djokovic now heads off for a longer off-season before pondering what tournaments he will play in next year, the ATP are finally getting a chance to put the finishing piece of their event in Turin in place and fans looking to buy tickets will belatedly know who they will be watching.
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Djokovic made no apology for the confusion he caused in his announcement that he was not travelling Italy, but he will doubtless feel he has earned the right to pick and choose when he plays.
Also, the Serbian has not tried to hide his annoyance at elements of how the ATP run men’s tennis, with the Professional Tennis Players Association he supports looking to stand up to the game’s decision makers and they look to take control of how the sport is run.
Djokovic made some inflammatory comments while speaking in Saudi Arabia last month that suggested he is already looking to a new role trying to make changes to the men’s game and the words he used left little to the imagination.
“In our sport, it is a big monopoly that has been there for decades,” said Djokovic at the Joy Forum. “That was the biggest inspiration for me and my college Vasek Pospisil, my fellow tennis player, we founded the Professional Tennis Players Association.
“Now we have the PTPA, but we still don’t have the voice at the table where the decisions are being made. That’s the downside of our sport and the way it is structured. The system is the way that it is.
“I’m always looking for a place where there is innovation and thankfully with my achievements, I have a platform and a mic in my hand and I can say certain things that will hurt a lot of people and disturb along of chairs. But I don’t care. At the end of the day, I love this sport. This sport has given me everything in my life, so I want to give it back.
“What can I do for the players? How can I personally engage in some changes so we can force that, in a right way.
“A lot of people are going to oppose that, they are not going to like it, but I can sleep well knowing I’m doing something good and my heart is in the right place.
“The fire just keeps going in me. As long as you live, as long as you breathe, you want to make this world a better place.”
When a sporting icon vows to take on the game’s authorities to force change, everyone stands up and takes notice.
Djokovic’s actions over the last few days and his predictable withdrawal from the ATP Finals may be evidence that he feels no obligation to work with tennis chiefs he clearly feels need to do more for the sport.
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