British Wildcards devaluing challenger tournaments

S_K_S · Post by **S_K_S** » Thu May 12, 2005 1:59 pm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/4539945.stm

Jonathan Overend, who is the BBC Radio Five tennis correspondent, having a go at the British WCs who couldn't even win a game.

As usual The British media waking upto tennis in the lead up to Wimbledon![/url]

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Thu May 12, 2005 3:19 pm

How did these blokes manage to get those Challenger wild-cards?? Certainly worth investigating: more power to the BBC on this!

S_K_S · Post by **S_K_S** » Thu May 12, 2005 7:28 pm

Here is the article in The Times that is mentioned in the BBC article

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, ... 80,00.html

Pk,

To answer your question the article says:

What makes this state of affairs extremely worrying is that the wild cards have been acquired at all, because the players have no form (they are equally stationed at No 1,472, ie, the bottom of the Indesit ATP rankings), but tournament directors have seen fit to find a place for them in supposedly reputable events. Ask people in tennis how it happens and they wink. “People pay — it happens all the time,” one official said yesterday, although there is no suggestion that this happened in these cases.

Lownsbrough, a 20-year-old from Halifax, has not won a set in his professional career. The closest he came to the big time was playing an Italian by the name of Andrea Agazzi in a Swedish satellite event last year, when he won two games. Named among the “partners” of the San Remo Cup, listed on the tournament’s website, is LCF Sports Law Solicitors, a Bradford-based company, among whose lawyers is Stephen Lownsbrough, Adam’s father. John Hendrie, the former Bradford City striker and Barnsley manager, is listed as a Sports Law Unit consultant for the firm and also heads up JCH Management, which represents Adam.

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:52 am

Ah, the oldest business practice of them all.
The one Robert Clive used with Mir Jafar in 1757...
Although in this instance there seems to be a mix of bribery and nepotism!

Nate · Post by **Nate** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:19 pm

Just like the Brits, we definitely need more futures and challengers in India. Given we have so many (about a dozen at least and doing well) regular players playing in the circuit . This will bring up their rankings to a realistical levels and the real good ones (Boppana, Rastogi) would jump up the rankings pretty quick.

jaydeep · Post by **jaydeep** » Sun May 15, 2005 10:08 am

Good thought Nate ... Now its high time we should follow on Brit path to help our players ... Who is behind on worldstage becoz of lack quality tournaments in their own nation.

Jaydeep.

Triple N · Post by **Triple N** » Sun May 15, 2005 10:55 am

well we surely need more challengers and futures in our country coz we have a goldmine of underutilised talent.
but i firmly think tht these WC's should be completely merit based and not be like match tickets where you get it if you know some VIP's