Djokovic thinks the men should get more prize money because they draw more spectators.
Frankly I like it that tennis is the only professional sport in which men and women get equal prize money, play at the same tournaments and get pretty much equal television time.
I personally like to watch both the men and the women. Right now, the men have a lot of exciting players to watch (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Monfil, etc…) I think, that what has hurt the women, lately, more than anything, is that they don’t really have a “top four”, and the women at the top, aside from Serena, lack consistency. Sometimes I think the men should make more in the majors, because they play 3 out of 5, rather than 2 out of 3. Djokovic needs to stay out of it, in my opinion.
Djoko made some idiotic statement in response about female hormones and birthing babies.
He really should get down on his knees and kiss the ground Roger and Rafa walk on because that is who puts people in the seats on the men’s side. I cannot think of another #1 who was as unpopular as he is.
@emilybee roddick, hewitt, carlos moya(for 2 weeks), patrick rafter(1 week)
Novak is so funny and charismatic, he shoved his foot in his mouth. But he is not wrong, mens matches bring way more money.
“Djokovic thinks the men should get more prize money because they draw more spectators.”
They do more than that Tatin. They drive viewership. And it goes beyond spectators, TV ratings and revenue generation. The men’s game is more advanced, and in some instances, like in the majors, more physically demanding. I am not sure we can make the argument of “equal work, equal pay” when it comes to athletics.
That being said, Djokovic should have kept his opinion to himself. Players should stick top playing tennis. On the other hand, Raymond Moore’s comments were insulting and way out of line.
“Djoko made some idiotic statement in response about female hormones and birthing babies.”
As idiotic as it may seem, that may well be the only argument one can make in favor of paying female athletes as much as men because it when comes to actual performance and revenue generation, they do not even come close. Paying female tennis players as much as male tennis players would be tantamount to paying the CEO of a mid-sized regional firm as much as the CEO of a Global 500 company. Different league altogether.
“He really should get down on his knees and kiss the ground Roger and Rafa walk on because that is who puts people in the seats on the men’s side. I cannot think of another #1 who was as unpopular as he is.”
Djokovic’s lack of popularity may have something to do with the fact that he is dominating Rafa and Federer, two of the most popular tennis players of all time. As far as their fans are concerned, he crashed the party way too soon. Since 2011, he has pretty much owned men’s tennis (winning 36 of the 72 most important tournaments during that period), and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. But as unpopular as he is (we can definitely agree on that point), Djokovic is very much responsible for the current popularity of the men’s game. People want to watch him play against Federer, Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka etc…because he raises the quality of everybody’s game. In the long run, I suspect Djokovic will eventually become extremely popular. Perhaps never as popular as Federer, but certainly as popular as the likes of Agassi and Nadal.
" roddick, hewitt, carlos moya(for 2 weeks), patrick rafter(1 week)"
I’ll give you Hewitt but Americans (except me) loved Andy. No one disliked Carlos and Pat was beloved by everyone. I don’t remember who the player was but it was the year Rdick won the USO and there was all those rain days - the player was pissed because he was put on an lowly outer court and complained. The tournament director said, “when you’re Pat Rafter you’ll get Ashe.”
Alexandre, people hugely disliking Djoker has nothing to do with his beating Rafa and Roger now. People disliked him way before that for things like faking injury and retiring with fake injuries when losing. Plus, because of his camp.
“Alexandre, people hugely disliking Djoker has nothing to do with his beating Rafa and Roger now. People disliked him way before that for things like faking injury and retiring with fake injuries when losing. Plus, because of his camp.”
Emily, Djokovic has been dominating Rafa and Federer since 2011, It is not recent. From 2011-2013, Djokovic went 9-3 vs Federer. Nadal did slightly better, but Djokovic still went 10-6 against him during that period. Like I said, since 2011, Djokovic has dominated men’s tennis, and every player in the ATP tour. All my avid tennis fan friends who “hugely dislike” Djokovic admit that it is his dominance over Federer or Nadal fuels most of the hate. None of them ever point to MTOs and “faking injuries”. I am not sure how one can hate a tennis player for taking TMOs or how one can claim to know that a player faked an injury. Why has Djokovic not faked injuries since he went gluten free? And what is wrong with his camp? His coaches have all been excellent. I respect Marian Vajda, Todd Martin and Boris Becker as coaches. But again, “hugely disliking” Djokovic for his camp seems like an excuse. These seem like very petty reasons for “hugely disliking” a player. If those are grounds for hating a player, I think we can find excuses for hating any player, including Federer.
Djoker has twice the points of the next highest player, Andy Murray. People want to see close matches, three or five set matches, in which the outcome is anyone’s guess. That rarely happens in Djoker matches, so they are just less interesting to watch.
Alexandre, I get that you really like Djoker but most people don’t and haven’t since well before he was dominating anyone. It’s okay to like a player no one else can stand. I really liked Fat Dave for instance. He was actually on the top of my list after Pat retired. A list that Rafa and Roger have never been on (surprising as that may sound.)
His camp wearing t-shirts with his face on the front was just the icing on the cake. Using the egg didn’t endear him to anyone either.
Even the commentators talk about how he has no fans. He just isn’t popular and if Rafa and Roger retired tomorrow he still wouldn’t be liked or have any fans. He’s a knob and always has been.
I think that popularity of mens and womans tennis varies. Sometimes the woman’s tour is carrying the men and sometimes the men’s tour is carrying the women. Should the women playing in the US Open final make more money because their event sold out sooner? http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/sports/tennis/women-have-ruled-tennis-indian-wells-raymond-moore.html?action=click&contentCollection=Tennis&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article
Well that didn’t take too long. I think resigned is putting it kindly.
http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Women-s-tour-CEO-says-WTA-stands-on-its-own-6925863.php
Women worked a long time to earn parity in prize money. The only place we do earn the same as men.
Roger and Rafa put butts in seats but so does Serena - that’s a fact. I like Nole but he should have kept his yap shut on this one.
emily, I do not “really like Djokovic”. I don’t know him personally, and I do not sit around reading tabloids or listen to idle gossip. I do not make it a habit of judging people I do not know. If there is something I really like about Djokovic, it is his game. I like his dominating, attacking all-court game. No weaknesses. Powerful serve, excellent return of serve, powerful, deep, sharp and accurate groundstrokes, consistency, agility and mental toughness.
Well, IMO, players personalities on and off court plays a big part in regards to which tennis athlete people choose to follow. Always has. Djoker is a wanker and people just don’t like him. It is what it is.
No need to read tabloids - every player holds pressers after ever match with questioning by tennis reporters and they talk to comms after matches too. Televised for every one to see.
@emilybee Your opinion seems misinformed, djokovic has tons of fans. I am one of them since 2006 when i saw him play first.
Djokovic is one of the nicest off court players, much more than Serena(wouldn’t stop for a 12 year old me to give me an autograph on arthur ashe kids day a few years back, i was alone in a hallway with her and security).
Djokovic always made a point to stop for fans.
Djokovic is very nice and charismatic and many people do like him, look at the shoe named after him(djokovic pro).
Djokovic is not charismatic.
I don’t find his sexism nice.
@SeniorStruggling, you have your opinion and I have mine.
GrandBudapest, I don’t see how Djokovic is sexist. He made a valid point. Just because you do not agree with him does not make him sexist.
Emily, I did not say that fans do not judge players. I said I personally do not. I am not the type of person that judges strangers. I am not even comfortable judging people I do know. I have always admired tennis players solely on their skill and ability. Borg and Lendl were hardly men-of-the-people. Both were reserved and austere, yet I count them among my favorite tennis players of all time.
And while I can agree that Djokovic is not as popular as Federer or Nadal, to say that Djokovic has no fans is a stretch. Djokovic has a sizable fanbase, and it is growing. For example, in the Indian Wells final against Nadal, the crowd was split 50/50. That says a lot considering that he was playing against Nadal. I know you do not agree that Djokovic’s lack of popularity is directly tied to his having so violently crashed the Fedal party, but considering my vast tennis network, the majority of the people I know will openly admit that they dislike Djokovic out of loyalty to Federer or Nadal…more Federer than Nadal. Djokovic is extremely popular among the 16-25 fan base, and since he has another4-5 years of dominance/relevance ahead of him, he will likely have a huge fan base by the time he retires.
GrandBudapest, I don’t see how Djokovic is sexist. He made a valid point. Just because you do not agree with him does not make him sexist.
Emily, I did not say that fans do not judge players. I said I personally do not. I am not the type of person that judges strangers. I am not even comfortable judging people I do know. I have always admired tennis players solely on their skill and ability. Borg and Lendl were hardly men-of-the-people. Both were reserved and austere, yet I count them among my favorite tennis players of all time.
And while I can agree that Djokovic is not as popular as Federer or Nadal, to say that Djokovic has no fans is a stretch. Djokovic has a sizable fanbase, and it is growing. For example, in the Indian Wells final against Nadal, the crowd was split 50/50. That says a lot considering that he was playing against Nadal. I know you do not agree that Djokovic’s lack of popularity is directly tied to his having so violently crashed the Fedal party, but considering my vast tennis network, the majority of the people I know will openly admit that they dislike Djokovic out of loyalty to Federer or Nadal…more Federer than Nadal. Djokovic is extremely popular among the 16-25 fan base, and since he has another4-5 years of dominance/relevance ahead of him, he will likely have a huge fan base by the time he retires.
Djokovic’s comments were sexist. In addition to saying woman didn’t deserve equal pay, he also expressed his deep admiration for how women athletes “fight” in the face of the unspeakable biological challenges they face. If that isn’t sexist, I don’t know what is.