Novak Djokovic backs ATP, laments Wimbledon 'lose-lose situation'

Novak Djokovic intends to defend his title at Wimbledon and supports the decision by the ATP mens tour to withhold ranking points from that tournament as a show of unity among players even though the move will negatively affect his hold on the No 1 spotIn response to a reporters question after his firstround victory at the French Open on Monday night Djokovic called the All England Clubs ban of players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine a mistake and criticized Wimbledon organizers for their lack of communicationThey havent discussed it with anybody from ATP or any individual players or for that matter Russian or Belarusian players to just communicate and understand whether there is a common ground where both sides could be making a compromise and something could work out Djokovic said about the All England ClubSo I think it was a wrong decision I dont support that at all He called it a loselose situation for everyoneRussia with help from Belarus began attacking Ukraine in late FebruaryThe All England Club said last month it would not allow players from Russia or Belarus to compete when its Grand Slam tournament begins on June 27 the ATP and the WTA womens tour responded by announcing Friday they would not award ranking points to any players for results at WimbledonDjokovic said he heard there might have been other options available to All England Club decisionmakers than has been revealed such as the possibility of exhibition matches to raise money to help Ukrainians in needDjokovic has had his runins with ATP management in the past and even worked to create a separate players association but on this matter he said he backs the tourCollectively Im glad that players got together with the ATP the governing body of mens tennis and showed to the Grand Slam that when there is a mistake happening and there was from the Wimbledon side then we have to show that theres going to be some consequences Djokovic saidThe ATP says that all players who earned ranking points at Wimbledon in 2021 Djokovic earned the maximum 2000 for taking the championship will have those erased from their record as part of the usual 52week system that counts someones best 19 tournaments over that spanWhatever happens at the tournament in 2022 will have no bearing on a players standing For me or for the guys that did well last year we are not only not going to have a chance to earn points but we cant defend them Djokovic saidAnd there are some guys obviously who are not going to have a chance to earn points of course Its a very unique and weird situation I must sayEarlier in the day fourtime Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said she was leaning toward skipping Wimbledon with no points on offer But Djokovics view was differentA Grand Slam is still a Grand Slam said the owner of 20 such titles one shy of Rafael Nadals mens record Wimbledon for me was always my dream tournament when I was a child So I dont look at it through the lens of points or of prize money For me its something elseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever