HAMBURG, Germany -- Spain's Juan Carlos
Ferrero will support a boycott of Wimbledon next month if he is
not seeded at the grasscourt Grand Slam according to his ATP
Entry System ranking.
"I want to play Wimbledon but I don't know what is going to
happen with the seedings," the world's No. 6-ranked man said after
reaching the semifinals of the Hamburg Masters.
"This year it will depend on the seedings."
Wimbledon has traditionally used a seeding committee for the
tournament because of the faster grass surface and it is highly
unlikely that Ferrero, who has only had one match on grass in
his career, a 6-3, 7-6 loss to Magnus Larsson at Halle, Germany
in 2000, would be seeded according to his ranking.
Most other tournaments seed players in line with the ATP
Tour's entry system which ranks players according to their
performance over the previous 12 months.
Faced with another revolt by top players, Ferrero's
compatriots Alex Corretja and Albert Costa withdrew from last
year's tournament after they were not seeded, Wimbledon scrapped
the committee last month.
However Wimbledon said it would not adhere strictly to ATP
rankings when deciding seeds and its officials are still seeking
a compromise.
One compromise suggested is to seed the top 16 players in
the world but not necessarily in order.
Under that system Ferrero would be seeded but not
necessarily as high as his ranking -- something he said he
would not be happy with.
World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten has already said he would
support any boycott 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 favour 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."
However earlier this week Andre Agassi said he would not
support any action.
Agassi, only the fifth man to win all four Grand Slam
titles, said on 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 it is
necessary ... I hope it won't come to that." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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