Brisbane, Qatar, Pune – as ATP 2018 openers
Drugs- ‘He too, She and They too’
At present use of performance drugs and various form of organised cover ups, is been reported at an alarming scale. It has been more widespread than one envisaged. The biggest revelation came through a German ‘investigating journalist’ and it is shaking the sports world at large. This time, nations are accused of this crime. It has become ‘He too’, ‘She and They too’ situation and sadly ‘ Tennis too’.
It is almost frightening to mention any of the recent past players name as a role model. We don’t know who did what anymore. This is a madness which the world will never come to terms with. When it came to prevention, one German journalist Hajo Seppelt has done more than the international bodies which were created to control drug abuse for decades. Seppelt even thinks that controlling bodies are involved in the cover up. Only a year after his revelation, Global authorities came out with their conclusion, it was same as Seppelt’s. So slow is the efficiency of the drug control system in sports of today.
Members of local sports, drug controlling bodies and international bodies have a high life flying first class and staying in star- studded hotels with liberal per diem at their disposal to conduct their business and seminars. Shall we say this is not acceptable but tolerable, but they being involved in cover up of drug abuse should be a punishable crime.
It is depressing to know that in the recent past we have been respecting cheats. The cover up operations, for the moment, at least looks like a big time and big money affair. It is said that what we know is only the tip of an ice berg. The number of substances known to enhance performance in the market is a big list and mostly distributed using internet marketing to escape detection. At the receiving end of this are the young athletes. They are the victims of drug and the penalties thereafter.
Advance countries did get the most medals in big sporting events in the last five decades. Now a cloud of suspicion hangs on all that. Some have been found guilty a good few years after the event.
2018 Professional season begins
The professional Tennis Calendar could not wait till the dawn of the 2018. Like the European ‘Silvester’ the 31st December 2017 was the start of the 2018 Professional tour. The WTA, ATP 2018 tours began in many venues in December 2017.
ATP in 2018 is offering 2144 matches, 64 tournaments, in 31 countries spanning six continents. It is an encouragement note to all would be Tennis players to enter Tennis seriously.
The richest opener, prize money wise, was Qatar and it had nearly one and a half million dollars. In the ATP tour, Brisbane in Australia and ‘Pune’ in India went past half a million dollars mark in prize money. Tournament directorate did everything to lure good players to have higher TV rating of their event and to attract local walk in spectators to fill their mega size stadiums.
‘Tata’ enters the game
India still has a major ATP event. Pune has replaced Madras in staging it. Madras relied on new corporates to finance to run the event and it did go very well for a time.
Years ago, Bombay and now Mumbai was India’s sports and social center. People said and things began in Bombay, all other cities in India followed. ‘Pune’ known to be ‘Poona’ was the unknown neighboring city to Bombay at one time. Now Bombay has no time or place to accommodate Tennis. It is over spilling its responsibilities to Pune. Making Pune a big metropolis.
Pune is getting the backing of the symbol of stable India. The ‘Tata’s represent Indian respected manufacturing power for a good while, that is for more than few generations. The event in Pune will be known as Tata’s Maharashtra state Championships. This will last a good while.
Harry Hopman’s Cup
In the time prior to the main professional tour good players spend time on stress free exhibition matches and light hearted modified scoring based events. Hopman’s Cup was staged in Perth Australia as country Championships for eight countries in the first week of 2018. It was on modified system of four games to a set than the traditional six. It reduced the match time to a half. This seems to be the format of exhibition Tennis for spectator entertainment. Using the names of nations, the event is keeping the international interest high. The entry into the event is by invitation and selection of nation is based on WTA and ATP ranked players in a country.
Unique thing about Hopman’s cup is the team has women and men. Harry Hopman was very much against gender separation in Tennis. With WTA and ATP this did happen. Hopman always said that, separation would kill a discipline of Tennisthe mixed doubles. He was right, today the discipline of mixed doubles virtually does not exist. Hopman former Australian player and Davis Cup Captain saw the professional Tennis would lead to money more than the skills of Tennis. His fears have manifested placing the game of Tennis at a critical junction.