WOZNIACKI THREAT
Dane may boycott Miami over death jibe
CArOlIne Wozniacki remains furious at the treatment of her family at last month’s Miami Open and is seriously considering boycotting the tournament next year.
The world no 2 is incensed by the way event officials responded to her complaints about what she said were death threats made to loved ones by an especially rowdy crowd when she lost to Puerto rican Monica Puig.
She had trouble sleeping the following week and feels let down by what she saw as an unsympathetic response from tournament director James Blake, the former top 10 player.
near her Monaco home the Australian Open champion reflected yesterday on one of the worst nights of her career, when her family felt threatened by a boisterous Hispanic element in the Miami crowd.
‘I slept horribly for probably four or five days after that,’ said the 27-year-old Dane. ‘I really felt awful. There was a bad feeling in my stomach. David (lee, her fiancé) was there too and he even was like, ‘‘This is bad’’.
‘The experience in Miami was awful and hopefully something we’ll never experience again.’
exacerbating things was the official response from Blake, in his first year as tournament director. It was a curiously abrupt press release that he put his name to, which seemed to question the version of events from one of the sport’s most respected players. ‘ We had tournament and WTA staff as well as tournament security courtside. They never witnessed, nor were they notified of any specific threats made to the players or their families,’ it read.
This has further antagonised Wozniacki. ‘I would have hoped that he would have taken a stance, but he didn’t and that’s that,’ she said.
‘I didn’t know who wrote it (the response), I just read it. Obviously it made me a little bit upset because I didn’t feel like they had the players’ backs, and I don’t feel like they did much other than just try to pretend like everything was beautiful.
‘To have David’s niece and nephew crying after the match and having to explain to them it’s not normal and this is not the way that people should behave, it’s not a good feeling.
‘I’ve kind of tried to forget the whole thing, but I think it was important that I spoke up because I don’t think it was OK.’
The Miami Open is owned and operated by IMG, the management company with whom Wozniacki has some history. She has a particularly fractious relationship with one of its most influential agents, Max eisenbud. He described Wozniacki as a ‘ journeyman’ after she criticised the favourable treatment given to his leading client, Maria Sharapova, on her return from a 15-month doping ban. The tournament may find itself without one of the biggest draws in the women’s game.
‘I just have to make a decision next year on whether I feel like I want to go back or not. I haven’t made that decision yet,’ said Wozniacki.
Her friend Serena Williams boycotted the Indian Wells event for 14 years due to crowd behaviour.
Wozniacki is in close touch with new mother Williams. ‘We’re talking, calling and texting. We were supposed to meet up a couple of times but it’s not easy, we’re both really busy. She’s doing great and the baby’s doing great.’ Wozniacki is an ambassador for new blockchain app Lympo, which motivates people to pursue healthy lifestyles.