One of the secondary players who return to a great tournament after not playing in Australia is the American John Isner, present in Miami, in his native country, to try to recover a good part of his best level and try to live moments like those of 2019, when he reached the final against Roger Federer. The Greensboro, also, left a very extensive press conference, commenting on a multitude of different issues. We review everything commented by the North American giant.
Your complaints about the prizemoney and the decisions behind it.
“It’s not what we’re used to. At the same time, we know that last year’s tournaments don’t have the ticket revenue they’re used to. Of course, our prize money will be affected by that as well. To dig deeper on why it’s lower, I don’t really have all those details. I think for some of the players, it’s not so much about the money. Maybe it’s about the structure, the players would like to have a better understanding of why it is make the decisions, what was decided to make each decision. Again, it’s not about money. Of course, we would rather play for a bigger bag. There is a bit of uncertainty about how those numbers came into play, why the money the prize is what it is. “
“It’s not really about the money. It’s about the ATP system and why decisions are made and what it means for the prizemoney to be lower. It’s not about the actual prize money itself. As I mentioned above, of course, We’d like to play for more, but we understand that with the loss of ticket sales revenue, our prizes are going to go down. But there are some players who have doubts as to why it dropped so much. The tour has implemented a strategy that keeps the rounds fairly low. similar. The prize money in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals has been reduced a lot. We are trying to understand the process a little more. “
Why haven’t some of the best players in the ranking come?
“For the best players in Europe I think it’s understandable. Maybe in the current climate we find ourselves in, it doesn’t fit very well with their schedule for Rafa and Roger and Novak and Thiem. I guess it’s a great commitment to come here for a just tournament and then immediately go back to Europe. For the four of them it probably doesn’t make sense. Probably because Indian Wells is not played before this event. I think the main reason players are not here is because this is just a standalone event. It’s not necessarily about the money, it’s more of a scheduling conflict. “
The comfort of a complex like Hard Rock Stadium.
“In 2019, the player’s experience of being at the Hard Rock for the first time, the amount of space that the players had to warm up and stretch and do what they wanted to do, be on the field to warm up, it was incredible. More so this one. year because, as we all know, the big center court is not integrated into the stadium at the moment. The entire soccer field is ours, so it’s great to go out and throw the ball, run, pretend you’re playing in the NFL. The player’s experience here has been excellent. They have done a very good job. James Blake has done an incredible job of providing an incredible experience for the players. We have a lot of space and a lot of fun things to do. The players are happy to be here. It is good to be back on one of the mainstays of the ATP and WTA Tour: Miami. We all missed it last year. “
Asked about the PTPA and what was his plan.
“We all know that the PTPA is trying to get going. Maybe it’s a bit of a slow launch. I think the purpose behind this is still good. A lot of players, maybe a lot of people in the ATP agree with me. And it’s something. I’m also a part of it. I think ultimately it could be healthy for the circuit. Look, nothing drastic is going to happen or anything like that. Players are not going to suddenly stop playing. We certainly had a lot of questions and I think the pandemic has perhaps highlighted some of the problems that players have struggled with for a long time. “
Isner confirmed that he will not play the Olympics.
“Yes, in 2020 I was not going to play the Olympics. Given everything that has happened, that option was presented to me again. But I am not going to play the 2021 Olympics this year. I will stay closer to home and be with myself. family and I will focus on the events that will be in the United States. On the other hand I will play the entire clay tour, including Roland Garros. “
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