Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem
Three-time Grand Slam finalist Dominic Thiem has voiced his opinion against Novak Djokovic's campaign of arranging a releif fund for the lower-ranked players in the ATP circuit.
ATP, WTA, ITF, and the organizers of the four Grand Slams have all come together to financially support the lower-ranked players amid the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, world no.1 Djokovic even had a conversation with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to help the lower-ranked players who seem to have been affected the most owing to the global outbreak that has suspended all professional tours indefinitely. However, Thiem seems to be against the campaign.
“None of the lower-ranked players have to fight for their lives. I’ve seen players on the ITF-Tour who don’t commit to the sport 100%. Many of them are quite unprofessional. I don’t see why I should give them money,” said Thiem in an interview with Krone Sport.
“I’d rather donate to people and institutions, who really need it. There is no profession in the world, where you are guaranteed success and high income at the start of your career. None of the top players took anything for granted. We all had to fight our way up the rankings,” added the world no.3.
Thiem had earlier this year reached the Australian Open final where he lost to Djokovic in a five-set thriller.
