Compulsory post match interviews
- Thread starter sredna42
- Start date
sredna42
Hall of Fame
that's what I mean, how can they wriggle out of this idiotic, useless, and forced obligation, while avoiding the fine?
tacou summed it up perfectly.
If they are not asking banal questions like he described, then they are trying to provoke a player to get a soundbite they can quote out of context to manufacture some drama.
For example, could a player get a diagnosis of anxiety disorder, and thus be exempt from being dragged in front of the media like a duck in a shooting gallery?
The on-court post match ones are even worse, having to dance like a circus monkey for jim courier as though you haven't entertained the crowd enough already for 3 sets, being grilled with questions when your head is probably still buzzing and all you want to do is get off court and have a drink and rest.
The whole mandatory aspect of it really doesn't sit well with me at all.
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
lol, yeah, it's obvious that alot of media doesn't actually play sports... perhaps that's why they got into journalism, to write about the things they wish they could do.
West Coast Ace
G.O.A.T.
Mixed emotions: yes, it is a silly exercise. But....
Your ‘anxiety disorder’ excuse is pretty weak - so one is to believe they can perform with millions watching but can’t answer a few questions? And don’t forget - TV pays most of the bills so they have to be granted some latitude. How would the player’s ‘anxiety’ be affected if TV went away and the players made so little they had to get other jobs? And you can just hit mute or not watch the presentation
And @tacou nailed it - just have some canned answers to rattle off. Not a big deal.
sredna42
Hall of Fame
Well that is the obvious flaw to call out. But spectators are just that. Spectators. You'd claim you have a way of psychologically blocking them out and just focusing on the match.
The interview though, you're dragged up there like victim at some midnight kangaroo court almost, and literally forced, to answer pointless questions at best, or be provoked and insulted at worst. Very easy to claim you find that an overwhelmingly confronting and hostile environment which leaves you feeling threatened and having panic attacks.
F*ck them. They get the right to show the tennis on their tv station, and make bank from advertisers and payTV subscribers. That's good enough. The players aren't their slaves, or their dancing monkeys.
The money wouldn't go away at all, viewers would still tune in in the same numbers they always do, and TV stations would make the same money off payTV and advertisers as they already are.
If the player's opinions are so important, well we live in the age of internet and social media, each player could be required to make a post match statement on their instagram or answer questions on that, in their own time once they have recovered, and giving them the opportunity to defend themselves from provocative questions by ignoring them, or just having their PR team make the posts and give the media the verbiage they need to make their "news" out of.
Ambushed by Will Ferrell on court immediately post match in a grand slam?
Really?
D
Deleted member 756514
Guest
r2473
G.O.A.T.
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/the-ttw-dictionary.251731/
Excuse
~noun
1. Anything a player says in the press conference after losing a match and doesn’t sound like “my rival PWNED me badly”, “my rival is a god and I couldn’t win while being so in awe with his divine light”, “I was 100% today, absolutely ON, healthier than ever, totally focused, no mono, no tiredness, no headcase, but I would never won this match because my rival is the ultra-GOAT and his mother looks like Scarlett Johansson and his coach is Einstein and I praise him every night before going to sleep and I’m so thankful for having the honour of being arse-kicked by him”.
2. Anything a player says in the press conference after losing a match unless it sounds like “I was threatened by the Mafia not to win this match, and I wasn’t focused because my girlfriend ran away with Radek Stepanek, and my coach ran away with all my earnings, and my whole family died yesterday in a plane crash while coming to see this match, and during this morning’s medical routine I found out to be dying of a strange disease that came to Earth in a meteorite”.
3. Every time Venus Williams says something.
Excuse
~noun
1. Anything a player says in the press conference after losing a match and doesn’t sound like “my rival PWNED me badly”, “my rival is a god and I couldn’t win while being so in awe with his divine light”, “I was 100% today, absolutely ON, healthier than ever, totally focused, no mono, no tiredness, no headcase, but I would never won this match because my rival is the ultra-GOAT and his mother looks like Scarlett Johansson and his coach is Einstein and I praise him every night before going to sleep and I’m so thankful for having the honour of being arse-kicked by him”.
2. Anything a player says in the press conference after losing a match unless it sounds like “I was threatened by the Mafia not to win this match, and I wasn’t focused because my girlfriend ran away with Radek Stepanek, and my coach ran away with all my earnings, and my whole family died yesterday in a plane crash while coming to see this match, and during this morning’s medical routine I found out to be dying of a strange disease that came to Earth in a meteorite”.
3. Every time Venus Williams says something.
Service Ace
Hall of Fame
ollinger
G.O.A.T.
No, a player who refuses interviews would be dumber than a dancing monkey. Sponsors don't want irritable players who avoid the public representing their products, so a player is only hurting himself in the wallet if he dodges interviews. When Donald Dell was Lendl's business manager, he told Lendl that his irritable avoidant manner was costing him millions in endorsements.
Clay lover
Legend
I understand it's an entertainment business but the players aren't known for their eloquence and their eloquence isn't what's earning them the money in the first place.
For me they owe ticket buyers, sponsors, TV broadcasters and the ATP a good performance on the court but that's where it ends.
For me they owe ticket buyers, sponsors, TV broadcasters and the ATP a good performance on the court but that's where it ends.
Harry_Wild
G.O.A.T.
Believe or not, most of the post match interviews are edited down to 5-10 minutes now or even worse a minute or two! They use to publish the full post match interview that is usually 30-60 minutes long and the player if not English as main language in his/her native language along with one in English. You get to know the players personal in the full interviews like that of Marat Saflin or Justine Henin or Raffael Nadal!
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
Tennis been berry berry good to Rafa.
sredna42
Hall of Fame
There's only ever been one Ivan Lendl. And players represent their sponsors on court, and winning seems to gloss over nearly any bad behaviour.
Further, if I were a sponsor, I wouldn't want, say Bernard Tomic, to do an interview. Just let him do his talking on the court, and let his PR team make his statements post match, and no negative publicity to worry about. It's the hostile ambush interviews where players are staked down at the mercy of these worthless journalistic hyenas that all the problems seem to arise in the first place.
Also, you can't appear "irritable" in an interview if you don't do one, but instead do a social media statement post match and field questions that your PR team can sieve to weed out deliberately provocative journalistic trolling.
Look at the time Nadal bit that ballkid on the face, climbed onto the roof at the AO, and had to be shot with that tranquilizer gun, that didn't cost him his contract with Nike at all, Nike just paid the medical and legal bills, and hushed it all up. My mate Dave was there, and saw it happen.
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Hmm. So, your mate is also making up stories about Nadal.
sredna42
Hall of Fame
Nah mate, Dave was there, apparently it was someone in the crowd with a laser pointer, Nadal saw the little red laser and just went apesh*t trying to catch it, then just bit the ballkid on the face, and scampered up onto the roof before animal control was called and had to shoot him with one of those tranquilizer rifles. Dave had pics and everything, but Nike gave him a slab of Toohey's to delete them.
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sredna42
Hall of Fame
Exactly. Spot on. The basically invest their whole life into becoming an ATP pro, not even having normal childhoods half the time, they play their guts out and give the spectators a performance, earn their sponsors money through exposure and product sales, earn the TV parasites money with payTV and advertising, that's enough. It is just all kinds of wrong to me to force a human being up there to be provoked and insulted just to provide meat for the sick media, when they could give the media the material they need to fill their websites up with their white noise/sensationalist crap with a statement from their instagram, or PR team.
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
Maybe only bother with it from QFs onwards?
True Fanerer
G.O.A.T.
Federer:
“Regardless of whether I won or lost in Halle I will be one of the favourites at Wimbledon.”
Classic.
“Regardless of whether I won or lost in Halle I will be one of the favourites at Wimbledon.”
Classic.
EloQuent
Legend
Did he say that?
EloQuent
Legend
hmm, the full quote doesn't include context, sounds like he could be just saying he feels pressured
True Fanerer
G.O.A.T.
He does feel pressure for sure. Still a hint of Arro-ganterer which is a good thing. He can't lose that or it's all over.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
Was he the bloke who told Lendl to wear those spray on shorts? My mother still recalls Lendl was told by his agency to wear spray on shorts to bring more interest into the game as he was considered boring.
The irony is Lendl game is a lot more interesting than nearly all players today. He mixed up play a lot more, played for position so he could unleash his power game. Nervous so never 100% sure what would happen under pressure. Loved the anger and aggression, there was a lot of snipping. Drilling Mac and then walking up to stare him down was great. I think most his issues where he was always the villain which is what entertainment needs but he won. The Villan is meant to lose in the end not win.
Being from eastern block during his era was never going to get him huge fan basis regardless what he did. He should have fixed his teeth earlier as well.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Wouldn't it be refreshing to hear someone just say, "It sucks man, it REALLY SUCKS!"
EloQuent
Legend
RoddickWouldn't it be refreshing to hear someone just say, "It sucks man, it REALLY SUCKS!"
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