ATP Player Council Anderson becomes chief as Djokovic seeks solace in ‘energy pyramids’
SOUTH African Kevin Anderson has succeeded Novak Djokovic as president of the ATP Player Council.
The Serbian World No.1 quit before the US Open in September to launch a breakaway organisation.
The ATP said in a statement that Anderson would step up from vice-president of the Player Council to take over as president.
“Congratulations Kevin” Tennis South Africa tweeted on Tuesday in recognition of Anderson’s new responsibility.
It said that Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, Australian John Millman and British former world No.1 Andy Murray were voted on to the council by their fellow players.
They replace Djokovic, Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey and Canadian Vasek Pospisil who all resigned in September.
The ATP Player Council has 12 members, including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who beat Djokovic on Sunday to win the French Open at Roland Garros for the 13th time.
Djokovic is behind the creation of a new men’s professional tennis players’ association (PTPA), independent of the ATP, which runs the circuit. He has ignored calls from Nadal and Federer for “unity not separation”.
Sarajevo: Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic visited a Bosnian ‘pyramid park’ on Tuesday to benefit from the site’s purported healing powers and miracle cures, 48 hours after his demolition by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final.
The Serbian world number one is known for unorthodox and sometimes controversial new-age spiritual views and practices. And two days after being swept aside 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 at Roland Garros he made a trip to Visko’s Valley of the Pyramids and its 25,000-yearold tunnels beneath whose “energy” is claimed to bring about miracle cures.
Although some hills in the region resemble a pyramid shape, the European Association of Archaeologists debunked the claims as pseudoscience over a decade ago.
“I would invite all athletes to come here to spend time in the tunnels, which are very beneficial for the increase of oxygen in the lungs,” he told public TV station FTV. “It has a direct effect on regeneration, on recovery, which is very important for athletes,” he said.
According to local media, visitors to the pyramid park have increased since Djokovic’s earlier visit in July after he and his wife contracted Covid-19 following a tennis tournament Djokovic organised in the Balkans.
“If there is paradise on earth, then it is here,” the Serbian player said at the time.