Novak Djokovic has criticised the ATP's introduction of 96-player main draw events due to the travel and organisation pressures.
At the 2023 Italian Open and Madrid Open, which took place between Monday, April 24 and Sunday, May 7, additional entrants took part in each competition to expand from 64 players. As a result, the length of the competitions has expanded to take place over two weeks.
While the change may not impact some players, it can have a lasting physical and psychological effect on competitors who consistently reach the latter stages of the ATP 1000 competitions. Speaking to the press after his round of 32 victory against Grigor Dimitrov at the Italian Open, Djokovic voiced his opposition to the 96-player draws.
"I mean, I'm personally overall not a fan of that because I feel like we already have four Grand Slams a year that take two plus one week eventually if you go all the way with training,"
Two of the big factors that the 35-year-old pointed to were based around the organisation for players and demands on transportation. Djokovic revealed that some players have had issues with logistical preparation before and during the recent Madrid Open and Italian Open.
"For organization, I see it is a big challenge. It's a big hustle to welcome so many additional players with their respective player staff members for transportation and everything. It just puts the organization to even a bigger task. There's been complaints about Madrid and Rome tournaments from players, with their accommodations, transportation,"
Despite his concerns over the increased entry into recent ATP events, Djokovic did also highlight some of the positive aspects of larger competitions.
"I think the positive thing is you're giving more players the opportunity to be in the draw, the main draw. Obviously they expanded the draw so you have more players,"
0 Comments