”We do not consider its requirement,” Rafael Nadal voices his opinion against Novak Djokovic led PTPA once again
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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
World No.1, Novak Djokovic, in an attempt to improve the condition of the players on the ATP tour, called for the formation of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) when the sport resumed in August after the COVID-19 disruptions. It’s the first tennis players union since 1972.
The goal of this rebel organization is not to enrich the already existing top contenders of the game, but to increase the number of players able to earn a good living.
However, age-old rival, Rafael Nadal has been vocal about his opposition to the PTPA led by the World No.1. The Spaniard had in fact even taken to Twitter at the time of its formation in August, to express how he felt about this new association led by the Serb was purely uncalled for during these challenging times.
During his press conference after defeating Andrey Rublev at the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday, the Spaniard once again voiced his opposition to the association. Nadal clarified that he had no PTPA related discussion with Djokovic despite training with him on Saturday ahead of his first match.
“I have not spoken with Djokovic about this matter,” Nadal said. “We trained the other day but we did not talk about it, but he knows my opinion,” he added.
The World No.2 went on to say that efforts of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and himself have benefitted towards creating ‘positive situations’ on the tour like for example, the work they did has resulted in the ATP significantly bridging the earnings gap between the top-ranked and lower-ranked players. All within the ATP framework.
“If we have experienced positive situations it has been due to Roger’s involvement, mine, but also Novak and Andy to ask the rest what they needed,” Nadal said.
”If we compare the income of 5, 6, 7 or 8 years ago to now, it is clear that we have greatly narrowed the income gap between the lowest-ranked players and the best. We know that we have to continue working on that, but we do not consider that another organization is required for that to happen. We have the same idea, what changes is the approach to achieve it,” he added.
Rafael Nadal to face Dominic Thiem as his next opponent in the ATP Finals
Rafael Nadal had a comfortable straight-set win over Andrey Rublev in his first match on Sunday before advancing in the next match where he will be facing World No.3 and this year’s US Open champion, Dominic Thiem for the 15th time in his career.
Nadal leads the head to head 9-5, however, they have never played each other on indoor hard courts.
The Spaniard will look to maintain his form in the next match as well as the ATP Finals trophy is the only one that has eluded him so far and a win against Thiem will be a massive boost for Nadal’s confidence and bring him closer to the main victory later.
The Nitto ATP men’s final will take place on November 22nd at the O2 Arena in London.
Also Read: Nitto ATP Finals 2020: Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem Preview, Head-to-Head and Prediction
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