Andy Murray: There Should Be Equal Prize Money Awarded At All Combined Events

Andy being a predictable feminist beta-minus male sycophant yet again.

March 22nd, 2016 at 10:37 pm

This is just a cheap shot at Novak, nothing else. Dear Andy, you need to beat the guy on the field, not in the papers.

March 22nd, 2016 at 10:41 pm

Would Andy’s tennis improve if the ATP granted an exception? Say after any set or rain delay, Andy could allowed to be hugged and comforted by Momma, Amilee, or Kim and told it was OK?? Poor lad has regressed. He needs a woman to help buck him up, hug him during match play.
That or Lendl coming back and getting in Andy’s face and telling him to knock the girlieman crap off or Andy would be doing 2 hours of wind sprints with Lendl’s dobermans and rottweilers at his heels??? Then get a testosterone booster shot from a Czech doctor. Good vitamins too, Ivan would say.

Maybe Andy can go to see the Heat or to Dolphins training camp saying the WNBA or a new female pro football league should play before the men in the same arena, and split the revenue.. Has Andy ever been stuffed in a dumpster before?

I like Andy, but he needs a Lendl in his camp to help him man up and play to his full potential.

March 22nd, 2016 at 10:51 pm

Andy would’ve gotten points for consistency had he repeated what he said in 2013.

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/09/murray-women-should-play-best-five-sets/49047/#.VvIFLH166jg

Unfortunately, he did not. Instead, he said something without mentioning his earlier opinion on the matter. Just says how everybody is afraid of having an honest debate on the subject; people are more worried about bing politically correct than being correct.

March 22nd, 2016 at 10:58 pm

people can change their opinions, and andy changed his opinion on this between 2013 until now. as i said on another thread, maybe it was due to the backlash he felt after hiring amelie? it would have been interesting to hear why he changed his views for sure, and if the reporters were effective, they’d’ve asked about that. but media sucks for the most part, ha ha.

March 22nd, 2016 at 11:22 pm

Just to take Andy’s argument further: The ultimate feminist should demand 256 players vying for the same grandslam trophy. 128 males and 128 females. The argument that men are stronger than women, and therefore shouldn’t play against each other, is SO SEXIST ! Women are equal to men on all fronts. Tennis should take the lead and take feminism to a place it has never been taken before. And then, nobody will complain about inequality … ever.

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:37 am

I think Andy is allowed to change his mind, isn’t he? But like jane I wish he’d been asked why he did so.
Perhaps it was just hiring Amelie that made him think again?
Um no…women are not physically as strong as men, whoever is alleging that? If they are, they need to go back to biology lessons at school. And, of course they do play against each other in mixed doubles anyway.
However, surely playing 5 sets is to do with stamina not strength and therefore of course women should play 5 sets at slams against each other.

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:59 am

@Margot

Why should women only play against each other when all men are not equal in strength with each other to begin with ? Nishikori isn’t as strong as say Del potro. Strength inequality exists even among males, but yet they’re all in the same category; strength inequality exists among females as well, and yet they’re all in the same category. So why not just do away with this farce and be part of one single tournament. Strength inequality from the stand-point of “pure equality” is not a justification for women’s only event. That’s one very logical way of getting rid of pay inequality while abiding by feministic principles.

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:14 am

@Margot

Why should women only play against each other when all men are not equal in strength with each other to begin with ? Nishikori isn’t as strong as say Del potro. Strength inequality exists even among males, but yet they’re all in the same category; strength inequality exists among females as well, and yet they’re all in the same category. So why not just do away with this farce and be part of one single tournament. Strength inequality from the stand-point of “pure equality” is not a justification for women’s only event. That’s one very logical way of getting rid of pay inequality while abiding by feministic principles.

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:14 am

@Margot

And of course, this proposal has the added advantage of ensuring that ‘proportional allocation of reward based on revenue’ as an argument – as reasonable as it is – against pay equality is completely nullified.

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:17 am

@chrisford
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,
“feminist, beta male sycophant feminist”
“girlieman”
“get a testosterone booster”
Welcome, welcome Arnold Scwatzeneggar to tennisx blog.
Do you even understand “playing the ball and not the person?” Or are you just clickbait?
@RF
Lol I heard you the first time.
In fact boxing can have different weight categories so I actually see no reason why tennis couldn’t have weight/height categories as well. Players like Goffin, Sasha, Kei playing each other? I’d much sooner watch them than the giants.
But, as the tennis world has just so perfectly demonstrated, it lives in the stone age, it’s not going to happen any time soon.

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:30 am

yes precisely, margot; all that makes sense.

women are obviously capable of playing best of 5.

i wonder who decided they should play best of 3 at slams? was it always this way? and who decided they should try on-court coaching, too?

i’d love to know if these decisions were made by female players, male CEOs, or perhaps a collective body comprised of votes by both. i honesty don’t know.

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:30 am

jane, I don’t either. Wonder if it’s to do with this infantalising of women which allows on court coaching? How I dislike that. Women can’t make their own decisions about how to play a match? Oh, give me strength.
Had another thought……;) wouldn’t a couple of tournaments allowing entry only, say, under 6 footers be such fun? They could make them 500s. Of course in the interests of equal opportunities you’d have to have a couple for the giants too.
I wonder which would generate most revenue?
*whistle*

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:42 am

ha ha margot… i suspect the ones with more rallies, not just serves? i know i would, of course.
but you never know. some like those big missiles.
something for everyone: tennis. ;)

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:48 am

“This is just a cheap shot at Novak..”

Not only at Novak but at Stakhovsky too, it was sheer arogance to bring Stakhovsky into this, just because Stakhovsky voiced his opinion while back.
Andy would be better of to think how to improve his tennis results than to behave like feminist loudspeaker.
I still remember his tirade about Amelie and how he was criticized for hiring female coach in on court interview after his Betdych match at AO and nobody even asked him anything about that.

March 23rd, 2016 at 8:43 am

Joker is talking far too much, just like his father.

March 23rd, 2016 at 8:49 am

Did Murray actually change his mind? I don’t read anything in his quotes indicating that he didn’t believe men and women should be paid equally at joint events at that time. To the contrary, women playing best of 5 at the majors would remove the last rational argument against equal pay.

March 23rd, 2016 at 9:49 am

I love how standing up for women gets derided as weak rather than a courageous stance in a macho environment.

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:53 am

As for Murray, I didn’t think I could be a bigger fan of his but I am.

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:54 am

I like Murray a lot, but he has a problem. He always feels the need to be categorical in every matter.
If he will be once Nr. 1, he should also empathize a bit with his colleagues from ATP and not give verdicts with every opportunity…nobody asks for him to play the judge.

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:07 am

mmt, the way i understood it andy used to believe women should have to pay best of 5 sets at the slams to get equal pay, but now he is saying they should have equal pay regardless of the fact that they play best of 3.

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:08 am

Sheesh, agree, jane and Margot. Women ARE more than capable of playing best of 5! And thinking for themselves – the on-court coaching is mind-numbing.

Love Andy Murray — his twitter conversation with Stako and others was a good laugh.

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:24 am

@Van Persie – but he was asked by the British (and other) media to offer his opinion.

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:32 am

Well, RZ, obviously Murray isn’t a Real Man.

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:35 am

RZ, why had he mentioned about Stakovski? Do not think the media asked for examples of ATP, who asked for more money. I do wonder how he would behave as a Nr 1…

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:40 am

You are right that he didn’t need to mention Staks. But bringing up an ATP player – whether a specific player or hypothetical – is key to his point.

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:43 am

Well, then he should ho play for WTA.

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:51 am

Sean right on the money once more.

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:20 pm

Take a look at the latest from Niall Smith, wonderful:
https://www.facebook.com/NialSmithDesign/
@Sean
et tu Brute?
@RZ 10.53
In despair really.
except wait….Ben @ 11.35 YAY!
*cheers hopefully*

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:27 pm

“Murray’s a mama’s boy we, and I bet his comment didn’t go over well in the men’s locker room.”

Yep. And why Andy goes up, way up, in my estimation. I’m sure he thought through the locker room reaction and decided to make a stand. Kudos Andy!

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:29 pm

“Murray’s a mama’s boy we, and I bet his comment didn’t go over well in the men’s locker room.”

A real alpha man would fear stating his opinions and defer to whatever would make the men’s locker room less awkward… Those locker rooms are obviously filled with butthurt men who’s egos are being threatened by the WTA… nah it’s probably more of an internet sort of thing.

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:33 pm

And where is he whose opinion is missing?

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:40 pm

Wow, I don’t know how to take what he said, whether it was a cheap shot on Novak or voicing his opinion. Locker room would be real awkward now, lol. Every one of them blasting Novak. Feel sorry for him. He really does come across as a likable guy.

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:45 pm

Sorry if I am offending anyone, but Andy behaved like a “rat”…he could have said, that he dont agrees with Noles comments and so on….but the rest was disrespectfull towards his colleagues…
Now everybody should be very carefull when talking to Andy, because he might use it in the press…

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:48 pm

Nole should be perhaps hated by WTA, not by ATP….because his ATP fellas might gain from his comments

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:51 pm

I look forward to Djokovic-Murray in Miami (and elsewhere). When Cilic invited a Croatian fascist singer to celebrate his USO2015 win, I anticipated that Djokovic will beat him badly in subsequent encounters. It is interesting to see what will happen from now on with Murray.

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:51 pm

George, I guess Andy just motivated Nole ;)

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:55 pm

In sports, where women and men compete in separate categories, and also attract different number of crowds because of the type of product (in other words, their exhibition of the sport) they sell, I’ll list a few reasons why it’s not a gender pay-gap issue begin with. A lot of this is pretty much what others have said as well but it doesn’t hurt to repeat:

1) ATP and WTA are two different bodies selling a different product. Consequently the pays should be determined by the revenue each of those bodies makes separately. (Similar to how golf and many other sports operate.) It is not sexist; as so many have pointed this: this is Economics 101.

2) The prize money sportsmen and sportswomen cannot fall under this definition of gender pay gap which is: “At EU level, the gender pay gap is defined as the relative difference in the average gross hourly earnings of women and men within the economy as a whole”. Key words: hourly earnings. Prize money DOES NOT equate to hourly wages. Prize money equates to proportional allocation of profits from revenues brought by the product. Prize money differential therefore is NOT gender pay gap. It is NOT the same.

3) Gender pay gap is a relevant issue for ATP’s and WTA’s EMPLOYEES which are NOT sportsmen . In other words, if ATP decides to hire two people, a man and a woman, for the same position requiring the same experience and credentials, there is absolutely no reason why pay gap should exist, and if there is, that’s immoral. But between the ATP and WTA employees, the pay gap can exist because they are more like two different companies selling a different product which can be making different amount of revenue and therefore bringing different profits.

The problem is that liberals who are hard-core-but-ignorant-of-economics-type-of-feminists tend to pose this as a purely feminist and therefore moral issue (which it clearly isn’t especially when you live in a capitalist world which abides by capitalistic principles for the most part); hence the reason places like guardian.com , dailybeast.com , and so many others, are just littered with people who just keep missing the point over and over and over, and label anyone who expresses the contradiction in their argument as sexist and/or anti-progressive.

The Serena clans tactics seem to be: Shame them into submission by posing them as sexists irrespective of whether their argument makes sense or not. It’s almost like men have to share their revenues with women and it’s men’s problem that they don’t appreciate women’s tennis more when the reality is that many men just don’t get excited by the product being sold to them.

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:56 pm

Why does everyone seem to think that this is going to be a big locker room brawl or something? That doesn’t give Novak enough credit as someone who would be okay with another player having a different opinion.

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:59 pm

From the looks of it you get the impression that every one are throwing Novak under the bus. He should stick to doing what he does best. Take this as a motivation, only hope that he is not hurt by all these back to back incidents starting right from AO. Whatever he does is painted by the media in a bad light. Like a witch hunt going on.

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:14 pm

Nobody cares about money distribution here. This is just an excuse to throw everything on Djokovic in hope of unsettling him. However, he knows hate too well.

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:24 pm

Andy’s holier than thou attitude, haha. Rewind to 2013, where he was singing a different tune. He is butt hurt of Novak’s success and Serena, wow bringing Novak’s son into all this. That was way too personal and unnecessary. Novak should just take it in his stride and pull the trigger on court where it actually matters. Also, hiring a better PR team wouldn’t hurt too. Good thing that Boris will be there with Novak in Miami. Novak and Fed’s press conference is yet to come up. Cue another round of Novak bashing right after that.

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:38 pm

Murray hired a female coach. Look how many slams he won because of that. Ha ha.

Why don’t they just have, at least once, a mixed tournament – a kind of WTF (I meant World Tour Finals – but what the heck, you can assume whatever you want) – get the top 8 mens and women’s players in a single draw, and lets see the score lines. I suspect there will be a lot to eat (bagels and breadsticks).

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:48 pm

Not entirely sure why people are attacking Andy here?, its not as if he was having a dig here at Nole, its merely a difference of opinion ….

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:44 pm

Wonder what Murray’s “opinion” is on this one below?

While the overall pay gap for men and women is persistently skewed toward guys’ favor, there’s at least one industry where women reign supreme: modeling. As the first New York Fashion Week for men kicks off this week, it’s worth taking a look at just how much more female fashion models make than their male counterparts.

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:47 pm

And for the record, Nole said nothing wrong either, for me its cut and dried, when you play best of three, then you should get equal pay, in the GS when men play best of 5, and women still play best of 3, then no they shouldnt ….

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:51 pm

Absolutely bang on Green Lady.

You nailed it.

My earlier suggestion was that from quarters on in a grand slam the women play 5 sets. Other than that rewards should be equal…no need to count heads women v men. Everything else is 3 sets (exception Davis Cup – but that’s a men’s only contest anyway) –

March 23rd, 2016 at 3:30 pm

Many thanks J-Kath, and thanks for the link on the other thread, the one about the witch trials, been interested in that sort of thing, i found it all very informative ;)) ….

March 23rd, 2016 at 3:33 pm

GL :)

March 23rd, 2016 at 4:12 pm

The insistence that the only flaw in the present system is women not playing 5 sets at Slams is a complete misdirection. It is not just matching hours worked. It is the market revenue coming in for the WTA product and ATP product and them being two separate business entities that should not have to pool and then equally split revenue.
The “if only women played 5 sets everyone would be happy because it would be equal pay for equal work” argument collapses as soon as you consider the lower quality WNBA scream squads play just as many hours as the men delivering an inferior product no one wants to watch. (hence the deserved lower pay for the WNBA players.)

March 23rd, 2016 at 4:22 pm

I believe there was a tad of eminist self righteousness in Andy’s comments – hit Novak, then hit Stahkovsky who Andy says “everyone hates”.

I doubt Djokovic will take Andy’s shade thrown at him too seriously, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nole gives him solid thrashings next few times they meet.

Yes, it is much better to hire a coach in the name “social justice” rather than to help you win Masters, Slams…
That formula is working out perfectly for Murray.

March 23rd, 2016 at 4:26 pm

I think the problem that I see is that the women are basically being told, “because you are women, you are less than.” I’m not sure what they can do to prove themselves. The women are doing the exact same things at the men – they are asked to come and play a tournament under a particular set of guidelines. It isn’t the fault of the players if, at certain times, the men are expected to play best of five (and that’s only talking about the grand slams). I know there was discussion earlier about two people doing the same job, but one bringing in more ad revenue would mean that person gets paid more. I think the problem with that analogy is that the incentive is directly tied to the individual, and I don’t believe that case can be made with either respective tour. The players are going out there and doing the job they are asked to do. Whether or not those guidelines should be the exact same is, in my opinion, a completely different conversation.

March 23rd, 2016 at 5:27 pm

PJ
My goodness!
Your post was almost completely devoid of logic and reason dear
Oh, can someone please assist this poor person?!
It seems to be rather serious…
ANOTHER THING.
Give it up with this ‘pay gap’ nonsense that feminists and other teary eyed professional victims try to lie to you about.
No reputable economist that isn’t a feminist (and there aren’t many of them, fortunately) thinks women are paid less in the West than men for the same job.
Firstly it is (now pay attention) AGAINST THE LAW.
Companies would not break the law in this manner, as it would leave them open to opportunistic litigation besides having the Govt go after them
If companies could get women on board for 20% lower wages than men don’t you think they would hire way more men than women, mmm?
Women make less OVERALL than men in the West because they make different life choices.
The figures are aggregated so they are not broken down for direct apple for apple comparisons.
For example in the professions, there are hardly any Engineers that are female, a lot more nursery teachers etc and Engineers tend to earn a lot more money.
Women & Men also tend to go for a different life work balance, particularly after they have kids.
Men work longer hours in general.
So please enough with the women don’t get paid as much as men, in fact in the West women earn slightly more than men up to the age of 40 now (103%)
Women are also less likely to ask for a pay rise than men but that is their own problem and cannot be legislated by Govt.
These are facts, absorb them or stamp your fists in feminist fury & Indignation, it’s your call.
Paying women the same as men when they don’t do the same work and bring the same value IS sexist, however.
Agree with many posters above, instead of sucking up to the laydeez Andy should now focus on getting his career back on track and winning another slam or 3 before he retires.
Or is he going to find yet ANOTHER reason not to dig deep and fulfill his potential.

March 23rd, 2016 at 7:53 pm

*oopps, I just read through what I’ve posted

*hire more women than men

*stamp your feet

Ay caramba!

😳

March 23rd, 2016 at 8:33 pm

I thought Andy and Novak were buds….Didn’t one of them invite the other one to his wedding? I am sure I read that somewhere, but not sure who invited who???

March 23rd, 2016 at 9:55 pm

Cdp, I appreciate your deference of opinion, but would appreciate a little less of a condescending attitude. The point I was trying to make is that both the men and women are asked to go out and play. I personally believe they should be compensated equally.

I don’t understand the logic that some people have that the men should be paid more due to playing best of five. In a tournament like Indian Wells and Miami, should an unseeded player who wins get more mone because they played an extra match?

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:17 pm

Deference should be difference (sorry, autocorrect)

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:17 pm

Okie,

Neither of them invited the other one on their respective weddings, that was false infotmation.

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:18 pm

Thanks Wog……I had always wondered if that was the case. I believe you coz you are a walkin’ talkin’ encyclopedia when it comes to Novak. I am one too when it comes to Rafa!! :)

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:02 pm

Andy and Novak have known each other since they were 11 or 12. Long history. Besides the tennis, they got along socially, same with the families, then it got tougher as the two entered the ranks the top 5 tennis players in the world, and were playing for millions and lots of prestige. Often against each other and there can only be one winner – so they have to pull back as friends given they are both top competitors.
I imagine they think that the tennis clashes will end in 5 years or less, and good times together and a more relaxed relationship awaits. Sort of the same with Novak and Rafa & Stan.

March 24th, 2016 at 1:52 am

@CF1
Lol do you know them personally or something? None of us out-lookers truly knows how the relationships between those high-profile stars is and I don’t see why we should care either. The big 4 clearly share mutual respect for each other, so good on them. Anything else people say about their relationships or what they think of each other is pure conjecture.

March 24th, 2016 at 4:12 am

‘I don’t understand the logic that some people have that the men should be paid more due to playing best of five.’

What part of what I said is so difficult to understand?
I think I made it clear as have others.
The prize money comes down to how much money the tour brings in.
The women bring in much less, so it is not ‘sexist’ to say the deserve less, or in my view (because tennis players receive less as a % of tour profit intake than many other sports anyway)male should get paid more.
The winner of the world ‘beer pong’ championships is going to make a lot less money than a PGA champion.
It’s simple economics.
Furthermore, how long they play is connected to this argument commercially too; longer matches = more advertising intervals so more money all round.
And my goodness, when it regularly takes say Novak around 10+ hours to complete a semi-final + final, that Serena and the others can usually do in a couple of hours, one has a serious economic and fairness deficit.
I’m not explaining this any further. People that insist upon bogus wage gaps and equal prize money for different performances/commercial value are either liars, marxists or simply irrational.
Otherwise known in combination as ‘feminists’.
The end!

March 24th, 2016 at 5:45 am

LOL CDP please just call me a “feminist marxist” from now on and I’ll take it as a massive compliment and stand on my soap box and cheer.
But call me “sweet” or “soft” or something as you did once, well…well…I’ll curl up in a wee ball under the table and start wimpering…..”please, please stop you’re being sooooo howwid.”
;)

March 24th, 2016 at 5:54 am

Margot did you burn your bra ? ….

March 24th, 2016 at 5:55 am

Says a lot about you Margot that you think being called a ‘Feminist Marxist’ (redundant use of Marxist in this term of course) would be a ‘massive compliment’.
I would never intend it as such.
Like EVER.
It also never ceases to fascinate me how Feminists bleat about equality and how men and women are the same, yet tirelessly campaign for special treatment, like the above situation with Tennis.
Try and live under Marxism for a while and see just how NOT a good Idea it is.
I believe North Korea does tours for a taste of Stalinism, just don’t knick any mementos while you’re over there or you might be staying a bit longer than expected!

March 24th, 2016 at 6:10 am

@CDP
Being on this blog for two seconds would be enough to turn “mild mannered Margot Clark” into a raving commie…………….Tee hee…..think you got caught on the end of my line m’dear…..;)

March 24th, 2016 at 7:32 am

For everyone saying that women’s tennis is less popular, sells less tickets, etc., keep in mind that this is not a permanent state of affairs. I remember not too long ago when the women’s matches were the hot ticket item in tennis, with the Williams sisters, Hingis, Davenport, and Kournikova being the draws. Is anyone here going to argue that Kournikova deserved to be the top paid tennis player in 1998 and 1999?

March 24th, 2016 at 10:48 am

@Okiegal – they are friendly and I’m sure they still are (they are big boys and won’t let different opinions get in the way of collegiality – they don’t react the way some Tennis-X posters do!). But the news about Andy being invited to Novak’s wedding and to be his best man were fakes.

March 24th, 2016 at 10:49 am

^^^^^ RZ, Wog Boy said it was not true either….which goes to show you can not believe everything you read! Now a picture however is worth a thousand words…..oops, not really since we have photo shop at our fingertips…LOL

March 24th, 2016 at 11:01 am

@Margot 7:32…..You are cracking me up…..u r on a gigantic roll!! LOVE IT!!!

March 24th, 2016 at 11:03 am

“The winner of the world ‘beer pong’ championships is going to make a lot less money than a PGA champion.”
Uh?

RZ,
Kournikova was a draw for different reasons, not tennis. But you already knew that? ;)

March 24th, 2016 at 11:11 am

OKiegal, you are my darling :)
Back to being “mild-mannered Margot C.”………for a little while at least :)
But wait, wait where’s that phone booth? ;)

March 24th, 2016 at 11:21 am

@Skeezer – yes and I know a lot of women who like Rafa for the similar reasons. :-)

March 24th, 2016 at 11:24 am

‘Tee hee…..think you got caught on the end of my line m’dear…..;)’

Fine dear, if it floats your boat to think so.

Skeezer, it was an exaggeration to help the hard of understanding;
WORK IT OUT!
I still think Maria Sharapova is behind all of this
lol

March 24th, 2016 at 11:29 am

RZ,
Maybe the Tours should change the pay structure on hot bods and looks and be done with it.

March 24th, 2016 at 11:39 am

I like the new Margot best!!!!! lol

March 24th, 2016 at 11:59 am

RZ……Not my reason for being a Rafa fan…old enuff to b his great gramma!! But oh to be young again, yeah I could see myself being a Rafa roadie!!

March 24th, 2016 at 12:01 pm

Why are 12 year olds pretending to know what living under Marxism is like?

March 24th, 2016 at 12:02 pm

Andy hasn’t been able to beat Novak on the court, so went after him through the media. Predictable loser move, reminiscent of his crybaby interview after losing the 2015 Aussie final. Sad!

March 24th, 2016 at 12:02 pm

@Eric W. – or, Andy made those comments because he believes in equal pay and is courageous enough to speak up on the issue.

March 24th, 2016 at 12:08 pm

For those of you who seem to think this is a big locker room rift between Andy and Novak, see this article. Novak says “Andy [Murray] sent me a message, we spoke very openly and frankly.”
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/23/novak-djokovic-andy-murray-equal-pay-spat

March 24th, 2016 at 12:09 pm

‘Why are 12 year olds pretending to know what living under Marxism is like?’

Oh, I dunno BP, maybe because 5 year old mummies boys are incapable of thinking rationally and need schooled?
I doubt you have ever even left the States, bar Cancun or somewhere like that.

March 24th, 2016 at 12:11 pm

@RZ
Hardly courageous
Novak was the one who really spoke his mind
AM was previously of Novak’s position, clearly he has taken a political position.

March 24th, 2016 at 12:14 pm

And I doubt you’ve ever left your mom’s basement, or some kind of closed off space like that.

See? It’s easy.

March 24th, 2016 at 12:18 pm

@CDP – I disagree. He only said women should play best of 5 at slams in the past. See this article on the issue which includes Murray’s past statements. http://www.changeovertennis.com/andy-murray-feminism-matters/

March 24th, 2016 at 12:20 pm

^LOL

March 24th, 2016 at 12:20 pm

I hate when I don’t complete my thoughts before posting. For my 12:20 post above, Andy said in the past that women should play best of 5 at slams as a way to settle the equal pay debate. I see nothing wrong with that. He’s providing a solution for those who think the women shouldn’t get paid as much as the men at a slam.

March 24th, 2016 at 12:23 pm

My ‘moms’ basement?

BP, you are the classic basement dweller and no it’s not hard to see….

March 24th, 2016 at 12:34 pm

@RZ
Would women playing 5 sets at slams automatically mean them selling pricier tickets, more money from sponsorship and more money for tv rights? By Andy’s false 5 set logic it would mean that women would bring to the pot the same amount of money as men do. Right now men more than double the revenue, but hey, the answer is F$#%^& 5 sets for women. Ridiculous.
The 5 set discussion is the same as sexism; it’s not what it’s all about but some posters keep bringing those two topics in to cloud the real issue. Or the issue is probably clouded in their own heads?

March 24th, 2016 at 12:35 pm

RZ

Firstly, I don’t want to see women get paid less or any tennis player get paid less, I just don’t agree that they ‘deserve’ to get the same, life simply doesn’t work like this.

March 24th, 2016 at 12:36 pm

Oh I forgot the secondly,

Secondly is we probably have all said as much as can be said about this and despite having no reasonable arguments whatsoever
the people that disagree with Novak are still going to disagree with him.
Is all about ‘feewings’ with these them.
So that means secondly is now ‘lastly’
On to tennis!

March 24th, 2016 at 12:51 pm

*with them

I’m a quick typer!

March 24th, 2016 at 12:52 pm

Basement dweller:
A male over the age of eighteen, usually with no formal education, who continues to live at home with his parent(s) and has no ambition to move out or contribute to society. His will to live is sucked by his daily marijuana regiment. He can be found working second shift at your local gas station. Lives in a perpetual state of “Getting his shit together.”

I’d say that describes you to a T except that you’re 12.

March 24th, 2016 at 12:52 pm

Hehehe

Well, that was a VERY detailed description, wasn’t it?
I must have touched a nerve.
You’re so very wrong on all counts, I’m afraid.
But then, no post of yours on this blog has ever been correct about anything…..

March 24th, 2016 at 1:34 pm

@calmdownplease: This is interesting discussion. Please, describe yourself (age, education, lifestyle) so that we can see how much Ben is off. Then, describe Ben and Ben can say how much you are off. I look forward reading you further.

March 24th, 2016 at 1:49 pm

CDP, it’s from urban dictionary.

George, that’s a good idea.

March 24th, 2016 at 1:51 pm

Sexist Easter joke(in order to keep the gender war alive)

How does John want his eggs for Easter?
Painted with lipstick

Happy Easter to those, who will celebrate it!

March 24th, 2016 at 1:53 pm

@Vami – the misconception on the ticket sales and TV revenue argument is that it doesn’t go purely by male vs female lines. Serena is female, and brings in more ticket sales and has higher viewership that pretty much any male player save Fed and Rafa. By your argument, Serena should have gotten less than Milos Raonic at Indian Wells even though both were the runners-up. That wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever.

March 24th, 2016 at 2:02 pm

@CDP – you’re right that no one is changing anyone else’s mind on this (or other) threads. So my “lastly” will be the point that I’ve made several times: prize money is based on merit (i.e., results) and should continue to be so.

March 24th, 2016 at 2:03 pm

@george

Er no
I’m not doing that.
I would never reveal my Identity on a tennis blog or any other site I frequent.
I like to be anonymous and it is staying that way.
But don’t worry, he is way off
More than he can even imagine
It’s called ‘projection’ you see.
Nothing he would say here would convince me otherwise.
I don’t care if you think I am some basement-dwelling stoner in his ‘moms’ basement BP
You’re the one that actually posts like one
A 5 year old version.

@RZ you are cherry picking.
We are looking at the tours, not Individual players.
Anyway, as per my original point
We are chasing our tails now.

March 24th, 2016 at 2:21 pm

@RZ: I don’t know about others, but I can speak for myself. As an example, I would rather watch Dzumhur vs Delbonis than any WTA match. The reason is that I appreciate finesse and technique applied and such match would be technically higher level than any WTA match. However, this is just my taste.

March 24th, 2016 at 2:22 pm

Oh, CDP, so predictable. You hide behind the anonymity of the internet and use it to attack someone anyway. Hypocrisy? Check. Cowardice? Check. Living in your mom’s basement? I’ll backtrack and say she probably threw you out due to shame and embarrassment you bring her.

March 24th, 2016 at 2:34 pm

Nice, what is that? “Show me yours, I’ll show you mine” game?

March 24th, 2016 at 2:37 pm

@jane: I see – well, the way I read the other article, he seemed to say that the bigger complaint from men at the majors, is not that they are averse to women getting the same prize money in principle, but that they are irritated at the frequency of easy matches, particularly in the first and second rounds, whereas the men can struggle from the first round to the last, and they may have to do it for 5 sets.

Still not sure if he’s changed his tune about equal prize money, because he didn’t seem opposed to it before, just more expressing irritation at the difference between the structure of the competition at the majors between the men and the women?

Can the two be divorced from one another?

March 24th, 2016 at 3:15 pm

How about some stats from this very site!

Take all these folks advocating that female tennis players should get the same as their male colleagues (Margot, Jane, RZ, Pronin, etc.) and look sheer number of their comments on ATP-related articles and compare them with their comments on WTA-related articles.
I’d say, based on those comments, they are interested in ATP way more than in WTA, and therefore owe much more of their “entertainment value” to men than to women in tennis. If I used commenting as a proxy to fair payment, the split would be something like 80% to 20% in favor of men! And remember, in today’s pro-sport, it is the entertainment/interest that determines profit and consequently salaries.
Therefore, only a fool would pay equally someone who was read/followed/commented by millions (JK Rowlings) as someone who is read/followed/commented by much fewer people (myself) – I tried, but my publisher does his job seriously and was no fool – he refused to pay me the same as that woman, as I mentioned earlier on this blog.

You may say these things are cyclical and one day you will follow and comment more on WTA articles and players, and that is fine! But now as well as for the past decade or so, the men tennis is by far more intriguing (YES, undeniably based on your own comments and followings) that all arguments for equal pay for men and women in tennis is so unfair that it basically a travesty – riding on coattails of men never ringed truer than these days in tennis!

Sorry folks, most of you I do like (Margot and Jane especially) but you are being SUPER-DUPER hypocritical in this matter. You yourself would NEVER chose to watch (and pay equal $$ for) say a 4th round WTA match over a 4th round ATP match, and let’s not even mention semis or finals with likes of Novak and Rafa involved…

March 24th, 2016 at 4:05 pm

And Murray bringing Stakhovsky into this argument – real classy!
Tells more about Murray than about Stakhovsky. It is now clearer to me why he said those comments after 2015 AO final loss and also explains why Lendl left him – Lendl would be the first to ask him what Stakhovsky had to do with equal pay interview…

March 24th, 2016 at 4:11 pm

@Travis Bickle – just because I may comment more on posts about ATP related articles, it doesn’t mean I really think or should think that the ATP players deserve more prize money at joint events. As I’ve stated again and again on this issue, I think prize money should be based on merit, and at joint events where both genders play best of 3 sets, that prize money should be the same. I don’t see what is hypocritical about that.

March 24th, 2016 at 4:29 pm

Posting this tastefully written humor for Margot, RZ, those who get it (though I’m guessing Margot already read it) ☺

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/mar/23/novak-djokovic-nice-guy-very-brief-guide-women-sports-tennis

I’m still snickering…

March 24th, 2016 at 4:31 pm

As for paying to watch men vs women, I recently went to Indian Wells where both genders play and tickets get you in to watch all matches going on during that day session. I watched lots of women play, including Ana Ivanovic vs Camila Giorgi, Margarita Gasparyan vs. Roberta Vinci, Johanna Konta vs. Madison Brengle, Nicole Gibbs vs. Madison Keys, Jelena Jankovic vs. Coco Vandeweghe, and I’m sure I’m missing a few more matches here. Also doubles: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Coco Vandeweghe vs. Grabriela Dabrowski and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

March 24th, 2016 at 4:34 pm

Thanks Jalep!

March 24th, 2016 at 4:37 pm

RZ…HGH will no longer signify human growth hormone to me anymore…

HGH will forever be human genius hormone = testosterone 😂

March 24th, 2016 at 4:42 pm

Jalep – 😂
Are you watching any of the Miami matches? I’m just tracking scores. Surprised at the some of the early scores I’e been seeing

March 24th, 2016 at 4:50 pm

I just got home, ate, and have settled in to watch, RZ. The WTA match results look good to me. Petra, Ana, Aga (her shoulder must be okay).

Atp: most of my picks lost. And I was picking on Kimberly’s advice! lol… But tomorrow is a bigger, much bigger day for ATP.

March 24th, 2016 at 5:01 pm

Absolutely do not go by gender as to my choice for watching tennis. If I purchased a ticket, it might be, but wouldn’t necessarily be, for the big stars…I’d choose by most interesting match-up, which for me can be either WTA, ATP, or doubles of either…
Could be a qualie match over main draw, ect. So, my perspective doesn’t fit with the average tennis ticket-holder, clearly.

At this point, it’s more fun to see the biggest names on the practice courts. Also saves $.

Today in Miami I would have wanted to see Elina Svitolina v Zhang Shuai and some other WTA match-ups. ATP wouldn’t have been a priority at all.

March 24th, 2016 at 5:21 pm