Novak Djokovic believes Wimbledon will still have the ability to attract the best tennis players, despite the ATP points being withdrawn from this season's event.
Last season, Djokovic won his sixth career title at Wimbledon and earned the maximum amount of points (2000) after defeating Matteo Berrettini in the final. However, such a large number of points will not be available at the 2022 Wimbledon Grand Slam after the ATP decided to remove points from the competition.
The ATP's decision followed the All England Club's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian competitors from competing at Wimbledon this season. This move fell in line with other professional sports competitions that have shown solidarity with Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February this year.
There was concern that removing the 2,000 points total would deter the world's best players from heading to South West London this season to compete at Wimbledon. But reigning champion Djokovic has not expressed such concern as the Serbian feels Wimbledon has an appeal beyond points and financial earnings.
"Wimbledon is still Wimbledon, it was my dream as a kid, I never looked at it for points of prize-money, but I understand the group of players affected. It's a lose-lose situation".
It remains to be seen which players will choose to boycott Wimbledon this season to show solidarity with their fellow Russian and Belarusian competitors, like Danill Medvedev and Andrey Rublev. Many high-profile players have spoken out against Wimbledon's decision to ban stars from the two countries, including Rafael Nadal, who branded the move 'very unfair'.
Djokovic has not revealed his stance on the banning of Russian and Belarusian players at Wimbledon yet, but the Serbian stated that he was pleased to see the ATP take some action against the All England Club for its decision. After missing out on competing at the 2022 Australian Open in January, and now due to the points removal at Wimbledon, the world number one has had few chances to boost his ATP points tally at the majors.
"I'm affected because I'm not able to defend 4.000 points [Australia and Wimbledon, but I'm happy to see that the ATP and the Players decided to show Wimbledon that when you make a wrong decision, there are consequences."
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