Der Artikel ist vom Mittwoch, ich komme aber im Moment wegen Wasserschaden-Drama weiterhin leider nicht dazu, regelmäßig zu diesem Thema beizutragen. Und es ist ein englischer Artikel (tut mir leid), aber ich finde es gut und wichtig, was McEnroe da sagt.
http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fulls...newsid=6614448
McEnroe Blasts ATP
By Richard Pagliaro
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
He is the son of a successful New York City attorney who recalls the argumentative skills he would display for years on the ATP Tour were rooted in family debates over the dinner table. Once tennis' raging rebel armed with a Dunlop racquet and a distinctive edge for persuasive argument, John McEnroe has grown into a voice of reason — at times — for the game and is again using his voice to target what he perceives as power abuse by the ATP.
The man who made little secret of his disdain for tennis authorities during his prime has not exactly mellowed with age when it comes to his feelings for the ATP Tour leadership. McEnroe castigated the ATP as "an absolutely deplorable union...one of the worst unions I can imagine" and called on on the players to step up and seize more power in shaping the future direction of the sport.
The 49-year-old New Yorker said the core of the current anti-trust lawsuit filed by the Tennis Masters Series Hamburg against the ATP centers on control of the schedule and he urges prominent players taking a greater role in constructing the calendar.
"Well, as you may or may not be aware, there's a lawsuit, starting yesterday, with pretty much that very thing, that the very core of the issue is trying to change the schedule," McEnroe told the media in Newport Beach last night where he played doubles and mixed doubles for the New York Sportimes, who edged the Newport Beach Breakers 17-15 in overtime. "The schedule is too long. Players have to put their feet down. That's the bottom line. They have to decide these players of today, if they have the right leadership, which is obviously the ATP has been an absolutely deplorable union as far as I'm concerned, one of the worst unions I can imagine. If they had proper leadership it would go a long way towards improving our sport, I believe, to hopefully bridge the gap with the players of today and players that were around like myself and a business person that would the type the thing that would be needed for this to be taken care of in a way that would be beneficial for tennis."
A long-time critic of the ATP dating back to his playing days, McEnroe said since the season is too long, players should be able to create their own schedules without mandatory appearances and suggested the ATP, which was originally created by players as their union, has lost sight of its original mission. McEnroe charges players' power in the decision-making process has diminished dramatically over the ATP's more than three-decade history and that there is a collusive relationship between tour power brokers and some tournaments creating an "old boys network" that benefits those tournaments at the expense of the players.
"Not everyone is going to be happy when you make decisions. As far as I'm concerned, players should be allowed to play where they want," McEnroe said. "They should not be told where to play. There's too many tournaments, so why do you have to tell them to play? It's politics, is what it is. These people are in bed with these people with the ATP, these tournament guys, I'm not going to mention names, and because it's so obvious I don't need to mention the name. It's like an old boys network. Why do they get it? There's plenty of other people that are chomping at the bit, I hope. We'll see. So far in 30 years virtually nothing has changed except the players have less power than they had when I was playing, which to me makes no sense whatsoever. Players should have more power, not less power."
The man who developed his skills under the guidance of Australian Davis Cup coaching legend Harry Hopman at the Port Washington Tennis Academy has been critical of the USTA's failure to fully develop the National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows — home of the U.S. Open — as a national training development center and has told Tennis Week in prior interviews that what he perceived as the USTA's lack of support in backing a McEnroe-led junior player development program was one factor that led to his resignation as U.S. Davis Cup captain after only one year on the job.
Reiterating his desire to develop junior players in New York, McEnroe has long said he hopes to help coach New York-area juniors in the future. In May, younger brother Patrick McEnroe assumed his post in the newly-created position of General Manager, USTA Elite Player Development, as part of a new strategic direction for the development of future American champions. The Hall of Famer questioned where the USTA's resources have been going for player development and suggested creating a competitive environment for elite juniors at the NTC is a good starting point to promote player development.
"Have a tennis academy at the National Tennis Center near where I grew up, have training facilities where all the kids have to play against each other similar to what we did in the old days. There's so many things that I would rather leave it at that for the moment," McEnroe said. "I don't know where all the dollars have been going. Obviously coaching is important, but you should take a look at some of the other places where it's been more successful, obviously. Just because someone was hungry and was in the middle of a war zone in Serbia doesn't mean that that's the only way to get a champion in tennis. Look at Federer and Nadal; I mean, they come from Mallorca and Switzerland. Those are two perfectly good upbringings, and they're the best players in the world, incredible players. So someone found something inside of Nadal that is remarkable. And try to get better athletes in our sport."
McEnroe Blasts ATP
By Richard Pagliaro
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
He is the son of a successful New York City attorney who recalls the argumentative skills he would display for years on the ATP Tour were rooted in family debates over the dinner table. Once tennis' raging rebel armed with a Dunlop racquet and a distinctive edge for persuasive argument, John McEnroe has grown into a voice of reason — at times — for the game and is again using his voice to target what he perceives as power abuse by the ATP.
The man who made little secret of his disdain for tennis authorities during his prime has not exactly mellowed with age when it comes to his feelings for the ATP Tour leadership. McEnroe castigated the ATP as "an absolutely deplorable union...one of the worst unions I can imagine" and called on on the players to step up and seize more power in shaping the future direction of the sport.
The 49-year-old New Yorker said the core of the current anti-trust lawsuit filed by the Tennis Masters Series Hamburg against the ATP centers on control of the schedule and he urges prominent players taking a greater role in constructing the calendar.
"Well, as you may or may not be aware, there's a lawsuit, starting yesterday, with pretty much that very thing, that the very core of the issue is trying to change the schedule," McEnroe told the media in Newport Beach last night where he played doubles and mixed doubles for the New York Sportimes, who edged the Newport Beach Breakers 17-15 in overtime. "The schedule is too long. Players have to put their feet down. That's the bottom line. They have to decide these players of today, if they have the right leadership, which is obviously the ATP has been an absolutely deplorable union as far as I'm concerned, one of the worst unions I can imagine. If they had proper leadership it would go a long way towards improving our sport, I believe, to hopefully bridge the gap with the players of today and players that were around like myself and a business person that would the type the thing that would be needed for this to be taken care of in a way that would be beneficial for tennis."
A long-time critic of the ATP dating back to his playing days, McEnroe said since the season is too long, players should be able to create their own schedules without mandatory appearances and suggested the ATP, which was originally created by players as their union, has lost sight of its original mission. McEnroe charges players' power in the decision-making process has diminished dramatically over the ATP's more than three-decade history and that there is a collusive relationship between tour power brokers and some tournaments creating an "old boys network" that benefits those tournaments at the expense of the players.
"Not everyone is going to be happy when you make decisions. As far as I'm concerned, players should be allowed to play where they want," McEnroe said. "They should not be told where to play. There's too many tournaments, so why do you have to tell them to play? It's politics, is what it is. These people are in bed with these people with the ATP, these tournament guys, I'm not going to mention names, and because it's so obvious I don't need to mention the name. It's like an old boys network. Why do they get it? There's plenty of other people that are chomping at the bit, I hope. We'll see. So far in 30 years virtually nothing has changed except the players have less power than they had when I was playing, which to me makes no sense whatsoever. Players should have more power, not less power."
The man who developed his skills under the guidance of Australian Davis Cup coaching legend Harry Hopman at the Port Washington Tennis Academy has been critical of the USTA's failure to fully develop the National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows — home of the U.S. Open — as a national training development center and has told Tennis Week in prior interviews that what he perceived as the USTA's lack of support in backing a McEnroe-led junior player development program was one factor that led to his resignation as U.S. Davis Cup captain after only one year on the job.
Reiterating his desire to develop junior players in New York, McEnroe has long said he hopes to help coach New York-area juniors in the future. In May, younger brother Patrick McEnroe assumed his post in the newly-created position of General Manager, USTA Elite Player Development, as part of a new strategic direction for the development of future American champions. The Hall of Famer questioned where the USTA's resources have been going for player development and suggested creating a competitive environment for elite juniors at the NTC is a good starting point to promote player development.
"Have a tennis academy at the National Tennis Center near where I grew up, have training facilities where all the kids have to play against each other similar to what we did in the old days. There's so many things that I would rather leave it at that for the moment," McEnroe said. "I don't know where all the dollars have been going. Obviously coaching is important, but you should take a look at some of the other places where it's been more successful, obviously. Just because someone was hungry and was in the middle of a war zone in Serbia doesn't mean that that's the only way to get a champion in tennis. Look at Federer and Nadal; I mean, they come from Mallorca and Switzerland. Those are two perfectly good upbringings, and they're the best players in the world, incredible players. So someone found something inside of Nadal that is remarkable. And try to get better athletes in our sport."
und ob das den Spielern (und Spielerinnen) mehr Einfluß verschafft, glaube ich nicht 
allen einen schönen 1. Advent!
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