Q&A with Weller Evans, ATP Tour manager

[TW Staff]

Weller: I want to thank DEUCE and all the other TW readers for their patience during this busy US Open Series Summer of Tennis. By the way, if DEUCE wants to discuss the "contributions" of a certain Lou Noritz to the men's tennis circuit, I would be happy to do that off-line, as I would not want to waste the other readers' time.

Posted by NoBadMojo:
Q: Has the ATP Tour given any thought to incorporating any HarTru events into the mix? With players taking a beating and the ball flying so fast out there, wouldn’t harTru be a solution to slow things down a bit and to keep the players healthier and the tour more marketable? Players must be tired coming into the summer US hardcourt season, and then get beaten up pretty badly with the hardcourts, the heat, and the humidity. I think a faster HarTru setup would showcase the player’s skills better and extend their careers, etc. Kinda like the NFL has gone more back to the natural turf.?


Weller
A: The simplest answer to this question is that the surfaces of the Grand Slams dictate the composition of the rest of the tennis calendar as they are its cornerstones. Through 1974 when the US Open was held on grass, there was a flourishing summer grass court circuit in the Northeast at such traditional venues as The Meadow Club, Merion, Longwood, Orange Lawn, Seabright and others. Likewise, in Australia before the Australian Open moved to Melbourne Park from its grass court home at Kooyong in 1988. When the US Open moved to Har-tru from 1975-77, the summer in the
States became almost exclusively clay as my friend Ed (NoBadMojo) will remember (as do I) the Monday night finals of Longwood, Washington, etc. on PBS. Despite the US Open moving to the hard courts of Flushing in 1978, this clay circuit lingered until the mid-80's when the summer promoters finally switched to hard courts, hoping that more recognizable American names might prevail on the hard courts over the clay savvy Europeans and South Americans. Finally, in the early 1990's, the USTA pushed for a mini clay court swing in the US during the spring which had as one of its stated goals, to help develop more American players with all-around games. The events were consistently overshadowed by the European clay events (Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Rome to name just the ATP Masters Series events in that time of year) and so now only the US Clay Court Championships in Houston and the Bermuda challenger remain. So, as you can see, in a calendar full of events (and we will address NORTH's off season question shortly), there is little room for events to be played on surfaces other than those on which the majors are held.

[TW Staff]

Posted By equinox:
Q: What is the ATP opinion on the International Men's Tennis Association? Will the ATP consider and implement the proposals brought forth by the IMTA?


Weller:
A: In response to EQUINOX's question, let me address the IMTA in general and then maybe you can enlighten me as to what specific initiatives of theirs you are referring. At first, when I heard that some players were taking steps to become better informed about their sport and become more involved in the game outside of the white lines, I was encouraged. Not since the evolution of the ATP into the very unique partnership (more later) called the ATP Tour in 1990 had the players, on the surface, looked to take such responsibility. However, it became apparent very quickly that the motives of the few behind the movement were less than pure. Those involved were either looking to "grandstand" (the lawyers) or had a personal vendetta. Their tactics were misrepresentation and their limited yet often exaggerated support came from preying upon the habitually oblivious or exploiting the determinedly disgruntled segment of the playing population (ie. some doubles players who felt increasingly disenfranchised or those players who the Tour had unfortunately been forced to sanction or penalize). Their interest in establishing a "player union" was not only unnecessary but demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of the partnership which is the ATP, a unique entity in professional sport. Instead of going into detail in this forum, let me just say that other professional athletes can only dream about having as much input into the way their sport is conducted.

[TW Staff]

Posted by jaap deboeck
Q: Will star players be somewhat visible during the 2 weeks per year that NYC gets to see a top 100 pro player, or will they wave to the fans briefly on their way off ythe court disappearing into the void that the pros inhabit? Mr. VP, you can't have a sport prosper where pros are rarely encountered in the flesh by fans in major sports centers. Think about it!

Weller
A: As a fan of other sports, I hear you JAAP DEBONECK about wanting more accessibility to the players, especially our marquee attractions. With the introduction of the player initiated STARS Program in the mid-1990's, the ATP has attempted to bring the players together with fans and sponsors more than ever was done in the past (and as far as
Jimmy or Mac talking about all they gave back to the game while they were playing...as one who was there, they are either suffering from selective amnesia or revisionist history syndrome). Yes, Jimmy energized the crowd while on the court but it wasn't until he had a piece of the action on the senior tour that he became a "corporate animal" in addition to a "competitive animal". Along with the Tennis Channel and others, the ATP is also breaking new ground by producing behind the scenes DVDs like "Tennis Masters Cup, Uncovered" and "Facing Federer" and our players are much more comfortable than ever before sharing their thoughts minutes before televised matches. Plus, none of the other sports I follow allow me to mingle around the grounds as close to and even bump into world-class athletes as tennis does, even at the ATP Masters Series level. Admittedly, given the magnitude, hectic ness and pressures of the majors like in Flushing, this potential interaction on the grounds is limited but pick any other spot, even the Masters Series, and rubbing elbows with a top tennis professional is not uncommon, as I am sure other TW regulars can attest and have even documented in this forum.