Novak Djokovic has said he is being unfairly portrayed in the media as the ‘decision maker’ on the ATP Player Council in light of a series of recent arguments involving off-court politics.
Djokovic currently serves as the president of the council, which comprises of a total of 10 members. The Serbian has recently been accused as being a key driving force in the move to remove Chris Kermode from his position as CEO. Something Djokovic has never spoken in favour of in public. The group voted on Kermode’s future and then passed their results to the three player representatives, who made the final decision. The results of that vote were never made public, which has lead to speculation.
The latest decision facing the council is selecting the replacement for the recently resigned Justin Gimelstob on the ATP Board. On Tuesday it was announced that two people have been shortlisted for the role. Former player Nicolas Lapentti and long-time ATP employee Weller Evans.
“I don’t think it’s fair that you guys point out myself as the decision maker. I’m president of the council, but it consists of 10 players. The majority decides. I am one of the 10.” Djokovic commented about his role in the process.
“I do have respect of players, of course. I’m very privileged to be leading the group. But I cannot make decisions on behalf of the group, nor any of my stands can make a difference in majority votes for someone else or something else. That’s going to be the same kind of process now.”
31-year-old Djokovic has been accused of being a key supporter for changes to be made to the structure and leadership of the governing body of men’s tennis. In the past, he has described the organisational structure as ‘a bit flawed.’ However, he has been silent about Kermode’s future and who could potentially replace him.
“I feel that I’ve been exposed way too much for being president of the council, having that role.” The 15-time grand slam champion argues.
“Everyone holds me accountable for everything that happens in tennis at the moment, which I think it’s unfair.’
“I’m not the only one there. If someone wants to understand the way the structure works, then he wouldn’t be having that kind of approach.”
One argument is that there needs to be more transparency from the Council meeting. The idea being that if the public is aware of what is being discussed, there would be no speculation or misinformation about certain subjects. It is understood that all members of the council agreed to keep the results of their vote on Kermode’s future private.
“I can give you (the media) some information. Some information I’m just not in that privileged position to give you , or I can, but then it’s not fair towards the president of ATP or board members that are supposed to also communicate.” Djokovic explained.
“I just feel like the way we go about things, there’s a lack of respect.” He added.
On the court, Djokovic will kick-off his Rome campaign against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. He will be bidding to win a second consecutive title on the tour following his triumph at the Madrid Open last week.
