Civil war at LTA over Sharapova
THE toxic issue of wildcards for Maria Sharapova now appears to have spilled over into British domestic tennis. There is a split in opinion at the Lawn Tennis Association’s Roehampton headquarters about whether the former world No 1 should be offered a privileged entry into the grass court events they run leading into Wimbledon. Outgoing chief executive Michael Downey is keen that a space should be made available to the Russian at Birmingham’s Aegon Classic, in the middle of the three weeks between the French Open and the Championships. A marketing man, he is keen to boost flagging ticket sales, and to overlook any dilemma about whether it sends out the wrong signals to specially accommodate someone coming back from a doping suspension. This has not pleased others within the organisation, such as Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong. Andy Murray — who beat Romanian Marius Copil 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open — last night gave off an exasperated air when discussing a topic he feels strongly about. ‘I made myself pretty clear earlier in the year,’ he said, of his call that those who have had doping bans should start from the bottom without wildcards. ‘But these are not my decisions to make and they are going to do what they think is best for the tournament. ‘I don’t agree with every decision the LTA make performance-wise or grassroots-wise. It’s up to them, right or wrong.’ Of the specific Sharapova question, he said: ‘When someone does speak out against it, it becomes huge news. It is aggravating sometimes. It has been a very divisive subject.’ The LTA insist they have not approached the Sharapova camp, but it appears that the governing body have indicated that a wildcard would be available prior to Wimbledon if requested. Murray, who faces either Pierre-Hugues Herbert or Borna Coric in the third round here, concluded: ‘I’ve just won a match, I’ve not been playing particularly well and I’m standing here having to discuss wildcards for Sharapova for the 10th time.’