Djokovic: Other cities deserve opportunities
Originally published on: 05/11/12 00:00
While fellow players Roger Federer and Andy Murray have added their support to London’s bid to continue hosting the end-of-season event after its contract expires in 2013, the No.1 seed at this year’s tournament believes other cities around the world deserve an opportunity to host the prestigious competition.
“I think that most of the players would share the same opinion that [London] is one of probably the best Masters Cups we’ve had,” said Djokovic. “Organisation wise and just having it played in the city which has a long tennis history and culture. You can see that the crowd is very knowledgeable about the sport, which makes it very interesting for us players to perform here and of course it’s a pleasure.
“But,” the Serb added. “I am actually one of the players that supports the global promotion of this event and this sport in general so I think that after being held five years here that we should give the opportunities to other cities around the world to have this tournament because in that way we can promote this sport in the best possible way.”
The World Tour Finals, which was first held in Tokyo in 1970, has been hosted in 14 different cities and despite reported interest from Asia and South America; London looks set to remain its home beyond 2013.
Djokovic, who is guaranteed to finish the year ranked No.1, is in group A along with US Open champion Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the 25-year-old is hoping to cap off an impressive season, which saw him win the Australian Open, with a second victory at this event and first in its current home.
“[Winning] would be an ideal end of the season that was fantastic overall for me but also for many players,” said Djokovic. “For the first time after many years we had four different Grand Slam winners. It’s a very interesting fact and something that attracts the attention to men’s tennis at this moment and I’m happy to be sharing this great period for our tennis with many other great competitors and great players.
“Everyone will try to take the last drop of their energy in order to perform their best and to get as far as they can in this tournament.”
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