French tennis player Benoit Paire has taken aim at the ATP in a dramatic press conference following his French Open defeat.
Paire, who was beaten in four sets by Belarusian Ilya Ivashka, was not obliged to fulfil media duties, but did so voluntarily and slammed the authority for stripping Wimbledon of its ranking points. The decision comes after the All England Tennis Club barred players from Russian and Belarus competing at SW19 this summer.
The saga has proved explosive, with British player Dan Evans arguing the decision lacked transparency. World No 1 Novak Djokovic however, has agreed with the call, whilst Naomi Osaka has questioned the worth of playing Wimbledon.
Having stormed into the interview room Paire, 33, said: "I would like to talk about Wimbledon. I would like to know if ATP defends more players or Russia. This is why I wanted to talk with you guys. Because we are going to play a tournament without any points."
Paire, who played Andy Murray at the blue riband grass-court tournament in 2019, claimed there was a disparity in the ATP's attitude now in comparison to the pandemic: "When some people had Covid, we didn't say, 'oh, okay, we should cancel the tournament altogether'.
“But then we have three or four Russian players, including Medvedev, and we are rallying against Wimbledon. I think it's a pity, because if we were to listen to all the players, players do not understand this decision. 99% of players, they want to have points and to play the tournament as it was before. So I want to know if ATP wants to defend players or Russia.”
Asked if he will play Wimbledon himself, Paire, who has twice reached the last 16 there was in no doubt. "I will go there to get my prize money, as I would for an exhibition tournament," he continued
“But the question is: Why didn't they talk with players upstream? Yes, when they say there was a council which voted, nobody told us about this. If it's a war between ATP and Wimbledon, it's not nice for us, because we want to play normally.
““I'm sorry for Russia and Russians, but they are the ones causing all the trouble. And all the ATP players are actually paying the price. Medvedev will be No. 1 worldwide. This is absurd. We should actually take position for all the players in the world, and it's the opposite that is being done right now."
His Medvedev comment relates to the bizarre scenario of Djokovic, who is set to play at Wimbledon, losing his No 1 ranking as his 2,000 points from his 2021 win will also be taken away: "Yes, there is a war in Russia, so there can be some sanctions that can be made. But ATP should defend the majority of players, not four or five players."
Paire then reiterated that officials didn't decide to "freeze the points" when players had to withdraw from events because of Covid-19. He added: "It feels like we are going to an exhibition tournament just to cash a check."
Medvedev himself, perhaps unsurprisingly, has backed the decision on ranking points. He said the argument set out by the ATP was 'logical'.
