CONTROVERSIAL: Mikael Ymer has made headlines several times for non-sporting matters. Photo: PAUL CHILDS / Reuters / NTB
Tennis Sweden is in a frenzy after star Mikael Ymer (24) verbally attacked heroes Kent Carlsson (55) and Mats Wilander (58).
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The inflamed conflict is rooted in Sweden’s highest-ranked men’s player saying no to joining the Båstad Open tournament for the second time. Ymer is said to have been offered a large sum of money to play, but the Swede said no and asked the tournament management to stuff the money up ir****.
The two tennis heroes Kent Carlsson and Mats Wilander are among those who react to Ymer’s behaviour, with the former calling the 24-year-old “a snob”. The duo believes Ymer should run to support Swedish tennis.
During a press conference in Wimbledon, Ymer hits back, where he first addresses Carlsson in his tirade:
Båstad Open – with Casper Ruud – you watch on VG+ Sport from 19 July.GOING ON THE ATTACK: Mikael Ymer lets tennis heroes Kent Carlsson and Mats Wilander hear it in a tirade. Photo: Caisa Rasmussen/TT / TT News Agency / NTB
– He is bitter. Nobody knows who he is. He left no legacy. He talks about his loyalty and how cool he was, how he hugged his friends in the Davis Cup. No junior has ever heard of who Kent Carlsson is, he is bitter about that. The other reason why he is bitter is that I earn more in one season than he did in his entire career, says Ymer.
For the record, Carlsson won nine titles at ATP level before he had to retire as a 22-year-old due to a knee injury. In comparison, Ymer stands without any titles on tennis’s highest stage.
– Kent is a pawn on a chessboard that will satisfy Christer Hult (the tournament leader in Båstad Open) and his team. As soon as something is about me, Kent thinks: “Oh, now I can get a front page in the newspaper so that I can join the team at Hult, get accreditation in Båstad and still be relevant. Kent ran to the media as soon as I made my Zlatan statement last year, according to Ymer tennis portals.
Ymer also caused a stir with this outburst of rage.
When Ymer refused to compete in the Båstad Open last year, he stated that he would not participate “for the same reason that Zlatan does not play in Allsvenskan”, i.e. the highest level in Swedish football. The statement created strong reactions.
At the press conference in Wimbledon, seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander also heard from Ymer.
– He talks about the fact that he has paved a way, that if it wasn’t for him, the next generation of tennis players wouldn’t have existed in Sweden. I don’t agree at all. Look how we feel about social media, we can study anyone, anytime. Novak Djokovic has meant a thousand times more to me than what Mats has ever done, because Djokovic is no “sellout”, says Ymer.
Furthermore, he encourages Wilander to seek him out directly, not to take it up in the media, if he has something to say.
Båstad Open – with Casper Ruud – you watch on VG+ Sport from 19 July.FEW UNCRIMINATED: Here is Mats Wilander (right) together with John McEnroe (left). Photo: Thibault Camus / AP / NTB
Björn Hellberg, who is referred to in the Swedish media as a «tennis oracle», reacts both to Ymers Båstad-nei and his attack against Carlsson and Wilander.
– For me it is incomprehensible. Båstad is a tournament with a rich history. With a few exceptions, all Swedish top players have lined up. It is now two years in a row that he has not participated. For me it is unexpected and sad. It’s boring when he’s Sweden’s only one, says Hellberg The evening paper.
Hellberg has had enough of Ymer’s many outbursts.
– He has just finished puberty, so I really hope he matures. It has become a bit too many things. You have to tolerate some individual outbursts and poor choice of words, but now it has become too much, says Hellberg.
Published:
Published: 13.07.23 at 07:30
Updated: 13.07.23 at 07:47
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2023-07-13 05:30:53
#Swedish #tennis #star #fury #verbal #attack #heroes
