Thursday, January 18, 2018

Roger Federer backs Novak Djokovic in call for higher prize money at Grand Slams


ROGER FEDERER has called for the Grand Slams to start paying tennis stars fairer prize money.

Pay among the lower-ranked tennis players has been brought into question this month by Novak Djokovic who wants to see more done to level the playing field.

The Serbian has called for a union of players to ensure a fairer distribution of prize money in the sport.

And Roger Federer has welcomed the changes, insisting an adjustment of the earnings at Grand Slams is long overdue.

“Yes, they could definitely pay more, no doubt about it,” the Swiss said after his second-round win over Jan Lennard-Struff at the Australian Open.

“But we don’t need to talk about that right now in the third round or second round of a tournament.

“They know that. We’re not partners. We’re just players. It’s always hard to rally.

“We had a good agreement, in my opinion, that made the Grand Slams happy, the players pretty happy. Seems like that has run its course.

“The moment that happens, there’s not the same increases any more, so players have to rally, get back together again, put in the effort.

“The Grand Slams know that. They will only react when we do so. We’re ready to do it. It’s going to be the same process over and over again.

“It’s a bit boring, to be honest, always having to ask for stuff. If you look at the revenue, the sharing process, it’s not quite where it’s supposed to be.

“But, look, you can’t go from here to right there in a day. We know that.

“We just hope they realise and they do appreciate us maybe more all the time and not just in waves, you know what I mean?

“But it’s all good. We have good contacts with the Slams. It’s all good. But it’s going to be a never-ending story.”

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