Montreal (AFP)
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, N.2 and 3 world, are making their big come back in the Council of the players of the ATP, confirmed Nadal on the sidelines of the tournament of Montreal, Thursday.
The two champions, along with Austria's Jurgen Melzer, have been elected by their peers to replace the board, chaired by Serbian Novak Djokovic, world No.1, Robin Haase, Jamie Murray and Sergiy Stakhovsky, resigns on the eve of Wimbledon end of June.
"We decided to be together," Nadal told a press conference Thursday night after qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Canadian Masters 1000. "I will not be alone, he will not be alone".
"Together, we can have some weight, and help this sport go, I hope, in the right direction," added the Majorcan. "We are here to help and be more aware of what is going on, and last year, there are many ups and downs in many areas," added Nadal.
"Novak has been here for a while, we've been there before, it's good that players are concerned about what's going on in their sport," the Majorcan warned.
Djokovic, president of the Djokovic players' union, is trying to reshape the governance structure of men's tennis, ATP, in order to give players more power, to redistribute more money, and to limit the power of tournaments. 1000 Masters.
For this, the world No. 1 maneuver sometimes brutally. His last victim? Current ATP boss, Chris Kermode of Britain, is forced to start at the end of 2019 after a vote on the ATP board in early March, when the three players' representatives clashed with him.
A poll that many observers have judged influenced by the Serb, who does not sit on the board.
Referring to the deleterious atmosphere that has prevailed for several months at ATP, Nadal said that "there have been (recently) heated discussions (within the Council) and that a lot of things must be done".
"If I'm here, it's to help, I'll give the opinion of someone who's been on the circuit for more than 15 years, and I can probably shed a different light on how the game should be arrangements that we can introduce ".
"During our career, Roger and I have been paying attention to the evolution of our sport.There is still a lot to do, and we want to be involved, that's why we're back," he concluded. .
© 2019 AFP