ATP
Money, money, money
THE legendary Swedish pop group Abba should be adopted by the ATP as its signature voice after reading of the obscene amount of money earned by the game’s top men in 2023.
Jealous? You bet, but to those who still argue they are not getting paid enough, take a look at these eye-watering numbers …
The regular ATP Tour season has come to an end and it is no surprise to see Novak Djokovic leading the prize money stakes.
So here’s the list…
Novak Djokovic
Prize money in 2023: $15,936,097
The world No. 1 only competed in 13 tournaments in 2023. However, he did win seven of those including three Grand Slams, two ATP Masters 1000s and the ATP Finals in Turin.
Carlos Alcaraz
Prize money in 2023: $10,753,431
Alcaraz won six titles, including Wimbledon. Poor form and injuries marred the latter part of the year for the young Spaniard.
Daniil Medvedev
Prize money in 2023: $9,239,679
The Russian won five titles in 2023, reaching the final of the US Open.
Jannik Sinner
Prize money in 2023: $8,349,392
Italian Sinner’s highlights was reaching the ATP Finals, beating Djokovic and making the final.
Andrey Rublev
Prize money in 2023: $5,488,934
It could have been more for the the young Russian, but poor discipline let him down. He has now lost nine Grand Slam quarter-finals.
Alexander Zverev
Prize money in 2023: $4,925,102
After a serious ankle injury Zverev has made a solid comeback, making the tope ten in the rankings.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Prize money in 2023: $4,852,266
After making the final of the Australian Open the Greek had high hopes for 2023. Sadly, it was not be as he failed to maintain a level of consistency that could hav seen him double his earnings.
Holger Rune
Prize money in 2023: $4,163,930
One to watch in 2024, Rune has been steady all year and with another solid season under his belt we could see big things from Holger in the new year.
TOP EIGHT TOTAL PRIZEMONEY: $63,708, 831
To put that into perspective, that figure would buy 2896 Toyota Corolla’s. Or for UK tennis fans, the wages of 1820 NHS nurses.
WIMBLEDON’S expansion plans suffered another predicted setback during the week after Wandsworth council voted unanimously to reject proposals for 38 new courts in neighbouring Wimbledon Park.
The application will now be referred to the Mayor of London’s office and the All England Club remains hopeful that it will still be given the green light.
“Naturally, we are disappointed by the London Borough of Wandsworth’s decision,” All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said in a statement.
“Our proposals will deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012, alongside substantial benefits for the local community.”
The decision was welcomed by the pressure group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP), whose members have campaigned against the proposals.
“This result is very heartening,” SWP chairman Iain Simpson said.
“The councillors unanimously recognised the crucial point that this application provides no justification for so much harm to metropolitan open land, our precious green belt.”
Photo: Tennis Australia/ NATASHA MORELLO
THE Ball issue we reported on last week has still not died down as Canadian Vasek Pospisil opened up about the issue and growing discontent between the ATP and players during the week.
Pospisil claimed about 50% of his colleagues have suffered injury one injury because of them.
“Players don’t talk about it openly,” Pospisil said. “I mean, how many wrist surgeries have we seen this year? I can name several players.”
Despite the ATP having a players’ council, Pospisil said that any ‘collaboration’ between the organisation and the players was a facade and that the complaints of the players ‘fall on deaf ears’.
“Players can complain, complain, complain; at the end of the day they don’t really have that much say in this sport,” Pospisil added.
FORMER world No.1 and captain of the Australian Davis Cup team Lleyton Hewitt has been at it again criticising the current format of the event.
Hewitt said he would like to see the return of home and away ties for the semi-final and final stages of the event.
Speaking to reporters in Malaga on Monday, when asked what he would change about the event, Hewitt, 42, replied: “to how it was.”
“The No. 1 thing is home-and-away ties. I have watched plenty of vision the last few years, even back in the day when I was playing,” he said.
“Coming back here to Spain and remembering 2000. Rafa Nadal was carrying the flag onto the court in front of over 20,000 people, all booing and screaming against me, and it was still an unbelievable atmosphere. That’s what the Davis Cup was about.
“Whether we played home semis and finals in Rod Laver Arena or away in France, in Nice, or Barcelona, it was an unbelievable experience and some of my best memories. Some of my hardest memories, as well, but some of my very best.”
ARGENTINIAN David Nalbandian has been accused of harassment and stalking by his ex-partner, Rosario Araceli Torrado.
Nalbandian admitted to having installed the camera in the room of the apartment where his ex-girlfriend lived last June but explained in his defence that he never used it as the camera did not work.
Torrado, a model, reported Nalbandian for harassment, but due to lack of evidence, the case may be heard in a civil court in Buenos Aires.
“Do you want me to be honest? Yes, I put it on that day,” Nalbandian told local media. “I couldn’t see it because I don’t know what the Internet chaos is. It can’t be seen. I couldn’t see anything.”
WE’VE had images during the break in the season on players on tropical beaches, but Caroline Garcia has decided to take a break from the courts and explore Antarctica.
Garcia posted two clips from her trip where she can be seen on the balcony of her cruise, holding a cup of coffee as the ship passed through the Drake Passage, a stretch of water that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is known for its big waves and strong winds.
AND finally … an arrogant Novak Djokovic showed a side of his mentality as to why he will never be considered the GOAT compared to Federer or Nadal, when he lost his cool at the Davis Cup finals.
Djokovic angrily accused British fans of disrespecting him after sealing victory for Serbia over Great Britain in the quarterfinal.
The Serb was unhappy that fans were singing during his post-match interview.
“Learn how to respect players, how to behave yourselves, learn how to respect people, you shut up, you be quiet,” Djokovic shouted.
A bit rich from the antivaxxer who openly broke Australian immigration laws not that long ago.
Footnote: Jannick Sinner restored faith in tennis democracy as he beat Djokovic in singles and doubles to take Italy through to the final of the Davis Cup for their first time since 1008.
Alexander Zverev on Thursday made a long-sought after return to the Shanghai Masters semi-finals, booking his first final four at the event since 2019, defeating Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4.
The 2027 year-end No. 1 last got this far as the Covid pandemic began to surface in China in 2019. The event was not played 2020-2022, with the German making modest progress here over the past three editions since resumption.
After winning his 62nd match of the season, the 29-year-old was pleased with his performance.
“I think it was a huge step up. From just being on the court I felt both of us were playing really well.
“I was, a lot of the time, outhitting Alex, which is difficult to do from the baseline because he is so fast and he loves this kind of court speed here.
“I felt good and I’m happy with the step up from the past couple of matches.”
Zverev advanced in 78 minutes, sending over 10 aces as he defeated the Australian for the ninth time in their 13 matches.
Added the reigning Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows Grand Slam champion: “I’ve been handling pressure quite okay this year. In a way you play a bit more relaxed.
“Once Jannik (SInner) unfortunately announced he won’t play for the rest of the year, I’m 4,000 points ahead of everyone else, so I trust myself enough that I’m going to win [enough matches].
Zverev will play for the final to wrap up the Asian swing as he takes on Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who advanced when Arthur Gea quit their quarter-final with injury.
Alexander Zverev marked his new status as sure-thing year-end No. 1 by reaching the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday by posting a fighting 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-6 (1) victory over Alexander Bublik..
The 29-year-old German whose two Grand Slam titles this season and the absence of injured Jannik Sinner helped him into the top spot for the first time, needed to save four early set points and deal with an ank;e issue on his journey into the last eight.
Zverev moved through in just under two and three-quarter hours to set up a match with last week’s Beijing finalist Alex de Minaur, The Australian booked his spot over Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4.
Zverev will be playing in his 40th quarter-final in a Masters 1000 and is on the hunt for an eighth trophy this season.
He said his ankle was giving problems – but not enough to affect the match outcome.”It was kind of understandable because I have been playing a lot of tennis, which is kind of a good sign because I have been playing well.
“I’m starting to feel my body more and more but happy to get through. It was a difficult match because he has been playing amazing tennis,” he said after coming from a break down in the deciding set.
De Minaur has bounced back nicely in Shanghai after quitting the Tokyo final against Carlos Alcaraz with an adductor muscle injury.
Stefanos Tsitsipas willed himself to a 401st Tour win on Monday, with the Greek advancing to the Shanghai Masters 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, over world No. 12 Taylor Fritz to reach the fourth round.
The win leaves the Greek with a 5-2 record against the American in a series dating back nine years.
The cerebral Tsitsipas credited the victory to some simple mental gymnastics.
“I was manifesting today’s match and trying to put myself in a victorious situation,” he said.
“I’ve always had big fights against him. Some of my biggest matches were played facing him on the other side of the court. I had to up my level.
“Once I started doing that, a lot of doors were open and I was really able to unleash my biggest potential out there.”
The match ended on an unusual note as the ball twice fell from the pocket of Fritz, causing each of the points in question to be replayed.
Tsitsipas missed on three match points in the mistake-marred game but secured the fightback victory a game later after two and a quarter hours.
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