Budge in no rush to sign up Wozniacki
ASB Classic tournament director Karl Budge won’t rush into doing a deal to bring back Caroline Wozniacki but has revealed he has made his peace with Jack Sock.
Wozniacki followed on her final appearance in Auckland by winning the Australian Open last weekend.
The victory has taken her back to No 1 in the world and she’d have to have an incredibly bad rest of the year not to finish 2018 inside the top 10.
As an International level WTA tournament, the Classic is limited to just one top 10 player in the women’s field.
Budge could look to snap up the Dane straight away for 2019 but he says he’ll spend time thinking about what he’ll do.
‘‘That relationship has been strong for a very long time,’’ Budge said of Wozniacki.
‘‘So I would always feel we’re in a strong position to start those negotiations, as long as we can come to an agreement we’re happy with.
‘‘I’m sure Caroline would be pretty keen to start her year again in Auckland next year.
‘‘Now that the tournaments are over we’ll have those conversations over the next couple of months and work towards 2019.’’
If he does sign Wozniacki up early, as he did for 2018, it means he’s boxed himself into a corner and couldn’t go after Serena Williams or any other top 10 player.
‘‘We’re weighing it up at the moment,’’ Budge said.
‘‘There are no shortage of players saying they want to play in Auckland, which is a great place for us to be.
‘‘Now the aim is for us to make sure we’re getting the right ones and doing so at a time that works. We won’t rush it, but we’ll have those conversations early on.’’
Budge has been able to bring Wozniacki to Auckland for a smaller appearance fee than she’s able to command elsewhere, thanks to his good relationship with her and because she enjoys the tournament so much.
But with her new found status, the tournaments in Brisbane or Shenzhen, which are the same week as the Classic, could be prepared to throw silly money her way.
Wozniacki has played in Auckland five times in the past and although she still has that star attraction, the novelty of her playing at the Classic has gone.
For the first couple of matches she played in Auckland this year, the crowds on Centre Court weren’t massive, but Budge feels that was because of the rain, rather than any Wozniacki fatigue.
On the men’s side, Budge said he caught up with Sock in Melbourne, his No 1 seed, who played appallingly in his 6-3 6-3 first round loss to journeyman Peter Gojowczyk in Auckland, then hastily left the country without doing the sponsorship activities he was contracted to do.
‘‘We had a good chat and we went away understanding where each party was at,’’ Budge said.
Meanwhile, Budge is keen to bring back Chung Hyeon, who lost in the semifinals in Melbourne, to Roger Federer, as well as the other losing semifinalist, Kyle Edmund.
Edmund didn’t get to play in Auckland, pulling out at short notice because of a knee injury, but Budge doesn’t feel the same way about the Brit as he does of Ryan Harrison, Andrey Rublev and Guido Pella, who were also late withdrawals.
‘‘I’d definitely
Kyle back, he’s chased for the
Budge said.
I’m sure Caroline would be pretty keen to start her year again in Auckland next year. Karl Budge
be keen to get someone we’ve last few years,’’