HAMBURG, Germany -- Andre Agassi says he
would not support any boycott of this year's Wimbledon
championships by clay-court players.
A handful of clay-court specialists, including world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten, have threatened a boycott unless Wimbledon
organizers change the seeding system.
But Agassi, only the fifth man to win all four Grand Slam
titles, said Wednesday: "I say seed me wherever you want and
I am going to show up and try to win.
"Stick me wherever you want in the draw and I am going to go
out there and realize I have to beat seven players to win and
what order they come in doesn't matter to me."
When asked about the possibility of a boycott, the 1992
Wimbledon champion said: "You know, I don't think that would be
the best way to go about it.
"I can say that I don't think it is necessary ... I hope it
won't come to that," he added after a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 second-round
defeat to Fabrice Santoro at the Hamburg Masters.
Spain's Alex Corretja and Albert Costa stayed away from last
year's Wimbledon after they were not seeded for the grass-court
championships despite being high in the rankings. Kuerten said
he would support any similar action this year.
"If the players come to me and we say together we're not
playing, we're not happy with this, I'm going to be the one who
is going to vote in favor of that," Kuerten said after winning
the final of the Tennis Masters event in Monte Carlo.
"I don't think Wimbledon respects the players. What they do
is not fair. It is the only tournament that does not seed from
the entry system."
Most top tennis tournaments seed players in line with the
ATP Tour's entry system which ranks players according to their
performance over the previous 12 months.
But Wimbledon has traditionally used a seeding committee
because of the special demands of the fast surface.
Faced with a revolt by top players, Wimbledon scrapped the
committee last month.
The grass-ourt tournament will not, however, adhere
strictly to ATP rankings when deciding seeds and its officials
are still seeking a compromise to head off a possible boycott by
clay court specialists.
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