Tomic’s $56,000 Wimbledon penalty unfair, says Djokovic

The controversial Australian was punished by the All England Club for tanking in his first round match which was over in just 58 minutes.

Published : Jul 06, 2019 10:28 IST , London

Novak Djokovic celebrates his win against Hubert Hurkacz.
Novak Djokovic celebrates his win against Hubert Hurkacz.
lightbox-info

Novak Djokovic celebrates his win against Hubert Hurkacz.

Novak Djokovic blasted the decision to strip Bernard Tomic of his entire USD 56,000 Wimbledon prize money as “unfair.”

The controversial Australian was punished by the All England Club for tanking in his first round match which was over in just 58 minutes.

The 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the shortest men’s match at the tournament.

“I don’t think it’s fair to take all his prize money away,” said Djokovic on Friday.

“I have to see obviously his behaviour, movement on the court, how much effort he put in. He deserved his right to be in this tournament. He’s a top 100 player.

“He’s worked all year to be here. He deserves most of that prize money.”

World number one and defending Wimbledon champion Djokovic, who is also the president of the ATP Player Council, believes other factors could have come into play which would have been mitigating.

“It’s not nice for the crowd, the other players that maybe would want to be in the position to fight to get to the second round.

“But he played against Tsonga, who is a great player on grass.”

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment