MELBOURNE: Players could forfeit their prize money if they retire from first-round singles matches at the Australian Open, under new rules aimed at limiting the early injury withdrawals, which have long caused controversy at Grand Slams.
Players will also be able to claim 50 percent of their prize money if they pull out before their first match, an incentive designed to allow a replacement to play instead.
With tens of thousands of dollars at stake just for playing in round one, early injury pull-outs have often caused suspicion at Grand Slams, particularly at last year’s Wimbledon.
Eight players retired from the first round at the All-England Club, including the opponents of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic during the second sets of their matches on Center Court.
“A player should not go on court if he knows he should not finish,” Federer said at the time, while Djokovic noted his opponent, Martin Klizan, even “had issues walking onto court” with a calf injury.
Now, under new rules by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), any Grand Slam player who withdraws after 1200 local time on the Thursday before the tournament draw will still receive 50 percent of first-round prize money.
Their replacement — a ‘lucky loser’ from the qualifying tournament — will get the other 50 percent of the first-round prize money.
But players who do not “perform to the required professional standard” in round one, including by retiring, also risk being fined their prize money, the new rules say.
Australian bad boy Bernard Tomic was fined a third of his £35,000 (SR177,890) prize money for unsportsmanlike conduct at Wimbledon, after saying he felt “bored” and “couldn’t care less” following a straight-sets defeat on day one.
Any repeat this year and he would lose the lot.
A similar controversy blew up at the Auckland Classic this week when four players pulled out before their opening matches, citing injury or illness.
Simply by turning up, they were eligible for prize money and avoided a fine. Chris Kermode, executive chairman of the men’s tour, the Association of Tennis Professionals, promised a shake-up, although he accepted the players’ reasons for withdrawing.
“Ranking points, player withdrawals and how we deal with that is something we’ve got to and are looking at,” he told Fairfax Media in Auckland.
In a separate rule change designed to get matches started more quickly, warm-up times will be strictly enforced.
Players will be fined up to $20,000 for taking more than one minute after walking on court to get to the coin toss. They will also be restricted to five minutes’ warm-up time on court, and another one minute before the first point.
However, plans for a shot clock to enforce a 25-second time limit between points have been shelved, and will only be used in the qualifying tournament at Melbourne Park.
New rules reverting Grand Slams to 16 seeds from the current 32 are due to come into force in 2019.
New Australian Open rules to prevent first-round injury withdrawals
New Australian Open rules to prevent first-round injury withdrawals
Dejected Inter return to Scudetto charge as Juve lick their wounds
- Inter are 10 points clear at the top of Serie A
- Juventus’ hopes of reaching next season’s Champions League could be hit hard in Rome on Sunday night
MILAN: Inter Milan return to their bid to reclaim the Serie A title with Saturday’s visit of Genoa after a humiliating exit from the Champions League at the hands of Bodo/Glimt.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat, with losses in both legs, to the Norwegian minnows has left questions not only about Cristian Chivu’s debut season in the Inter dugout but also about Italy’s place in the contemporary football landscape.
Inter are 10 points clear at the top of Serie A, but on Tuesday night the division’s best team were undone by prosaic attacking and an inexplicable individual error from Manuel Akanji which effectively ended the tie.
The aftermath has been despondent and blunt, with the Gazzetta Dello Sport’s Wednesday front page simply saying “no excuses” after a historically bad result for one of the world’s most important footballing nations.
Chivu’s backhanded compliments to Bodo/Glimt also rang hollow, as he said that their only playing four matches in the last three months, all in the Champions League, was a factor in Inter’s defeat.
“They had a lot more energy than us, but that’s the Champions League for you. Let’s move on,” said Chivu.
While Inter flopped on the European stage, they have dominated domestically this term with just two points dropped in their last 14 league matches.
And will be heavy favorites to at least keep their distance from Milan with their derby coming up next weekend.
Juventus’ hopes of reaching next season’s Champions League could be hit hard in Rome on Sunday night following their own painful elimination on Wednesday night.
Luciano Spalletti’s players came close to a stunning comeback against Galatasaray but left themselves with too much to do after a 5-2 thumping in the first leg, and a trip to Roma is another difficult test.
Juve trail fourth-placed Roma and champions Napoli — in third ahead of their match at Verona — by four points and are on a run of four defeats in their last six matches in all competitions.
“We still have a lot to play for in the coming months, but you can see that the team is there,” said Juve icon Giorgio Chiellini, now a club official.
“We’ve had some slips and obstacles but we’re growing.”
Lurking a point behind Juve are Como and Atalanta, with the latter at Sassuolo still basking in the glow of a stunning comeback against Borussia Dortumund and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Player to watch: Gleison Bremer
The Brazilian is by far Juve’s best defender and their collapse in Istanbul last week came soon after he had to be substituted with a thigh injury in the first half.
His return from a mercifully short lay-off will be key for Juve’s chances at Roma who have the division’s second-best home record and are gaining momentum under Gian Piero Gasperini.
Juve showed on Wednesday that they are a goal threat but Bremer will need to plug a leaky defense at the Stadio Olimpico.
Key stats
10 — Inter’s points lead at the top of the division
40 — the number of points Inter have collected in their last 14 matches
Fixtures (times GMT)
Friday
Parma v Cagliari (1945)
Saturday
Como v Lecce (1400), Verona v Napoli (1700), Inter Milan v Genoa (1945)
Sunday
Cremonese v AC Milan (1130), Sassuolo v Atalanta (1400), Torino v Lazio (1700), Roma v Juventus (1945)
Monday
Pisa v Bologna (1730), Udinese v Fiorentina (1945)
