Match point

Chapter 970 A Lever

Tennis, as a solo sport, players often come and go alone, accompanied only by the coaching team.

It is precisely because of this that the relationship between players and the team is often more like a family, participating and traveling together and spending days and nights together.

In comparison, it is difficult to establish friendship among players, because everyone has different participation plans. Even if a top event such as the Grand Slam Masters brings everyone together, the busy daily routine of training and competition, It is doomed that the time for private communication is very limited.

Of course, nothing is absolute.

It is not uncommon for a sincere friendship to be established in the busy daily life and then become a close friend, but generally speaking, most of them are lone rangers.

Last year, Gao Wen got to know a lot of young players successively, and established a small circle among the new generation; then, in London and Doha, Gao Wen got to know Federer and Nadal successively, and Wawrinka, who has a close friendship, In the Mesozoic Era, a hole was also successfully torn——

It's not just the friendship on the field, but the friendship that also communicates, texts, contacts and talks in private.

Now, at Melbourne Park, Gao Wen has successfully entered the circle of legendary celebrities, and has gradually opened up the situation in the professional tennis world.

Perhaps, someone will say: so what?

Competitive sports, after all, still need to look at the performance on the field. These connections are not helpful for the game, are they?
To this, Tobias would reply: short-sighted.

If it is a traditional tennis powerhouse such as Spain, the United States, or Australia, then naturally it will not be affected, because the players are connected with each other and help each other, which is a powerful force that cannot be ignored in the tour.

But Gao Wen was not.

Like Djokovic, Gao Wen is now a thriving existence in his own country, relying on him alone, it is still too difficult to drive the influence of his country in the entire movement, it is almost impossible , Just look at Djokovic who is alone.

So, what should Gao Wen do?

Attract more tournaments to mainland China, attract more events to mainland China, attract more sponsors to focus on tennis, and so on.

For one thing, young players can compete more and see the world.

Second, cultivate more hobbies of young seedlings.

Third, establish a tennis atmosphere and attract more fans.

These require not only Gao Wen's star effect, but also the cooperation of official organizations and the attention of interest groups. This is a long-term investment.

Thus, the importance of establishing contacts can be seen.

A little "spoiler":
On August 2020, 31, Djokovic announced that he had officially withdrawn from the players union, and teamed up with Canadian player Pospihill to form a new organization, the Professional Players Association (PTPA), to compete with the ATP.

Nominally speaking, Djokovic is completely for the interests of the players.

The ATP committee consists of three player representatives, three event representatives, and one chairman; the PTPA committee is composed entirely of players.

Djokovic's banner slogan is to protect the income and interests of low-ranking players who are ranked outside the world's top [-].

The most important reason is that because of the storm brought by the epidemic, tennis, a sport that needs to travel around the world, has encountered a severe test, so low-ranked players have no games to play, directly affecting their livelihoods, and even many professional players have to Start looking for part-time jobs.

The establishment of PTPA is to condemn ATP for failing to take corresponding measures to protect the basic interests of these low-ranking players.

The vision is undoubtedly beautiful.

But for the ATP, it is a provocative move, not only openly questioning the decision of the ATP, but also challenging the authority of the ATP.

This move triggered an earthquake in the entire professional tennis world. The four Grand Slams and the ATP teamed up to issue a warning to Djokovic, and it also sparked controversy in the entire professional tennis world.

There are supporters, there are opponents, and there are also those who wait and see.

Among them, the two giants Federer and Nadal both came forward to support the ATP; Murray said that he would continue to wait and see; Continue to wait and see what PTPA can do.

Many people accused the high-ranking players headed by Federer and Nadal, completely disregarding the life and death of the low-ranking players, thinking that they have no leadership spirit.

The slogan is naturally beautiful, and it is precisely because of this that Djokovic won the support of a large number of fans and expressed his disappointment with Federer and Nadal.

But there is a very, very interesting detail that Djokovic said that the purpose of PTPA is to protect low-ranked players with a ranking below one hundred.

However, these protected objects have no idea what happened. They have never heard of PTPA at all, and no one has joined PTPA.

These players, who have no names on the tour at all, said in interviews that they don't know what happened or what will happen in the future.

Of course, "language is always gorgeous and beautiful", action should be more important than words.

Since its establishment, until 2022, more than eighteen months before and after, what exactly has PTPA done?

The answer is, none.

Nothing at all.

Nothing happened except that Pospihir convinced his teammates in Canada and a group of players in the United States to join the PTPA and then ran a series of slogan campaigns.

In fact, it is wrong to say that. To be precise, no effective measures have taken place.

PTPA has taken some actions. They have established a partnership with a public relations company and a charitable organization to provide free courses, guide players to plan their careers reasonably, and find better business partners.

For example, how to invest, how to start a business, how to win sponsorship, how to speak, how to face a press conference.

But, all this looks good, does it really help the lower ranked players?
At least for now, it has had little effect.

Pospihir is still struggling to cheer for Djokovic, but...

The entire professional tennis world is increasingly discovering that PTPA is not designed to protect the interests of low-ranked players. To put it bluntly, it is actually an organization to "raise" Djokovic. All projects, plans, and publicity are all centered around Djokovic unfolds, all for Djokovic.

After all, Serbia is a small country, and Djokovic has an inherent disadvantage in front of Federer and Nadal. If Djokovic wants to rise to the next level of fame, it is undoubtedly a good idea to unite low-ranked players to break the existing blockade. The smartest choice.

Except for Pospihir, the other high-ranking players who joined the PTPA at the beginning, Isner, Raonic, etc., all remained silent and gradually lost their voices. It seems that only Djokovic and Pospihir two people.

So, what exactly is missing in PTPA?

(End of this chapter)