Hi, I'm Ella Gina. I'm John McEnerd. I'm Bjorn Borg. I'm Racy. This is Martina and

Navratelova. This is Mark Fulkes. I'm Andy Murray. You're listening to the tennis podcast.

Hello and welcome to the tennis podcast.

I'm going to support you in association with the telegraph and with Euro Sport on day one or at the very end of day one of the 2018 Australian Open Day.

We're first and foremost. We have to say our Kickstarter campaign to fund the podcast this year officially closed and officially we are going to inform everyone one more time.

I mean, is it always a big time and when you're standing there, I mean, it's just a big time, however, overwhelmed and bold over and delighted and wonderful.

You all are that we are. It's just, I mean, it's all of those things. Times of million. We sit there watching watching all these pledges coming and some of the lovely notes that we've received as well.

Is that really for us? Anyway, I mean, really, it's lovely and we'll stop saying it now. We'll get on with actually producing all these Grand Slam daily tennis podcasts that you've been basically chipping in for and hopefully do your proud.

Yeah, the Grand Slam daily start here where they kind of officially or unofficially started yesterday, didn't they? With a little bonus kind of review of what the players were saying on the eve of the tournament.

The tournament is all is ancient history now. The tournament is underway and I promise you we will talk about tennis results in due course on this day one podcast. But first and foremost, there's kind of been a story which over the course of the day has gathered so much momentum that's ended up overshadowing even the biggest upsets and the biggest excitement that we've had on the tennis court today.

That is the news that was spoken by Mike Dixon of the Daily Mail overnight UK time that the ATP players meeting on Friday last Friday. So four days ago now is the only mandatory players meeting of the year on the ATP.

They have other ones, but this is the only one that all players have required to attend. There were 150 of them there. Everybody that's in town from the ATP as well. It was all proceeding as normal. And I should say this is how Mike Dixon reported it in the paper and and and every source that I've spoken to very liable ones have confirmed that this is absolutely bang on how it unfolded and certainly Mike's there's absolutely never any reason to doubt that these are the facts.

Meeting proceeded as normal and then as it was drawing to a close I think they were just completing the question answer section of proceedings. No fact, Jocovic stands up and announces that he would like every non player to leave the room. Therefore, all the ATP representatives, including Chris Gimaud, lots of ATP dignitaries in that room that were requested to leave. He stood up, made a rousing speech alongside a lawyer that had brought in

the room, trying to well bottom line, trying to galvanise support for a breakaway movement from the ATP and the establishment of an official players union, which you know you might say with the association of tennis professionals, that's what the ATP is. Jocovic's argument is that the ATP as an association and as a representative of the players is compromised by the fact that it also represents the tournaments.

And therefore particularly in respect of prize money and the proportion of tournament income that goes into the prize money pot, he believes that the players are not being sufficiently advocated for by the ATP because they also are advocating for the tournaments and those two things are in opposition.

I believe as I understand it, the other argument in favour, Jocovic and his supporters, whoever they may be, believe there to be in favour of a bigger prize money pot is they take issue with equal prize money for men and women.

They essentially believe that the men's tools subsidises the women's at combined events. So the grand slams and the handful of events throughout the year where men and women play alongside one another has to be said outside the slams.

I think there are any events that pay equal prize money to men and women but there you go. They believe that there is a certain level of subsidy going on. Mike Dixon reported that there is a certain level of support already amongst players, Jocovic, is somebody who he reported is in support Sasha's verve as well, the younger of this verve.

It should be pointed out that Jillson mom was not being drawn on it in his press conference earlier on today. He was pressed pretty hard and he didn't want to get dragged into any controversy at all.

All he did was confirm that his views on equal prize money have not changed since he last reported on them four years ago.

What he said four years ago which he confirmed today is still the case is that he stands in firm opposition to equal prize money.

So if that remains the case it is a logical conclusion that he would be in support of this movement.

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