NASTASE OUT ... NOW WHAT ABOUT MARIA?
SW19 hoping to avoid wildcard call
ILIE NASTASE out, Maria Sharapova in: that seems the likely fate of tennis’s currently most controversial figures at Wimbledon this summer.
The All england Club were, however, reluctant to emerge from behind the curtain on either issue when the pair were mentioned amid the annual prize-money hikes yesterday.
Philip Brook and Richard Lewis, chairman and chief executive, almost contorted themselves in their efforts to stay neutral on whether the 2004 ladies’ champion would be given a wildcard if one were needed.
They were more forthcoming on nastase, but still stopped short of instituting their own ban on the Romanian, following his outrageous behaviour at last month’s Fed Cup tie against Great Britain.
Confirming that he will not get an invite to the Royal Box was a no-brainer. They did, though, allow themselves to go further than that, with Brook saying: ‘his actions were not very good and we condemn them.’
nastase respondedp angrily,g y accusing Wimbledon of being ‘small minded’ and adding: ‘If they consider it normal to deny a 71-year- old the chance to watch tennis matches, then that’s their problem. It must mean that we Romanians are morons . . . otherwise I don’t understand it.’
The Sharapova wildcard remains a trickier issue. Wimbledon will be hoping she earns enough points in her next two events to gain a main draw place by right.
If, instead, she ended up in the qualifying at Roehampton — which is extremely likely at minimum — then they have solved the problem of the Bank of england venue being swamped.
The event will now become ticketed to a limit of 1,000 people paying £5 to charity, when previously it has always been an open-gate policy.
Lewis said this was always the plan. he denied that it was a safeguard against a one-off outbreak of Sharamania. If she did need a wildcard to add her brand of stardust then Wimbledon will inevitably have to watch carefully against charges of conflicted interests.
It is well-known that the All england has a long- standing commercial partnership with the IMG agency, the management giant which (among many others) also represents the Russian and Tim henman, who would be one of the key decision-makers in his Wimbledon committee role. evian, one of Sharapova’s main sponsors, is a commercial backer of the Championships.
Given that the Sharapova camp are open to conspiracy theories, they will also be aware that Brook’s daughter Vicky is the agent of Jo Konta, now a top 10 player who can be counted as a legitimate rival to the Russian for the big titles.
Such is the high profile of this whole question that differing perceptions would abound, were it to go before the relevant committee on June 20. Four club members, two LTA representatives and referee Andrew Jarrett will sit on it. What was clear is that Sharapova’s results, and not just her recent doping suspension, will be a factor, which is in her favour.
As for prize-money, the overall rise was 12.5 per cent, taking it up to £31.6million, with the two singles winners taking home £2.2m each, up from £2m last year. First-round losers will earn £35,000 each, making wildcards even more valuable.