Nadal, Thiem Join Federer By Withdrawing From Miami

And another tourney with missing top players. The weak ERA continues.

March 16th, 2021 at 6:43 pm

Anyone with any sense would avoid Florida right now – no one wears a mask down there, and social distancing protocols are rarely observed.

March 17th, 2021 at 12:36 pm

@PK: Florida’s covid numbers are as good or better than states like California that are masked up and semi-locked down, plus Florida’s economy is thriving and people are not isolated and depressed…yay Florida!!!!

March 17th, 2021 at 2:55 pm

Interesting opinions about Mr 40:15 influence in ATP council, particularly since Nole’s and Vasek resignations in August last year, when it comes to present ranking system by Dirk Hordorff, Zverev, Rublev and some other players.
Just google them, particularly Dirk Hordorff one, no need for the links since they’ll bugger the thread.

March 17th, 2021 at 9:46 pm

To be honest, if Djokovic wasn’t showing up I would be okay with that too. I am really over watching Roger Rafa and Novak all the time. I do still like Stan though. And Nick curios is always entertaining. However I think Medvedev is getting too scary for these guys anyway

March 19th, 2021 at 6:15 pm

Well, Nole pulled out of Miami too.

March 19th, 2021 at 7:48 pm

I wonder if the lack of motivation to play in Miami by many of the top players has anything to do with the extreme contraction of prize money. Winners prize is around 300k down from 1.6m. That is a massive reduction. Welcome to the NWO tennis players. I think tennis players will have to accept that this is not temporary but the new normal. This will be do for many walks of life. We are not meant to return to “normal” from this.

March 21st, 2021 at 12:36 pm

Tennisfansince76 – Yeah, we forget that while money may not be a prime consideration to the Big 3, they do want to get paid what their agents think they are worth for their time and sweat.
For others, the “money factor” is the prime issue. No appearance fees, 66% drop in prize money, and for many young up n’comers – no “meet and greet” opportunities at packed parties or Organizer’s events to gain sponsors or get the Miami celeb circuit buzz leading to sponsors. (Money making synergies are lost)
I-Do-Disagree about how Covid will mean the end of normal civilization. We have the historical record to show that we quickly get past far worse plagues. Most recently the 1918 Spanish Flu and the 1956 Hong Kong Flu or the Peruvian Cholera Epidemic of 1974-75.
We really have no choice. Even the US can’t keep continuing to print money to make up for trillions in adverse economic impact to companies and individuals. The “new normal” may have more requirements to travel, vaccine docs to get a job, but a new normal will emerge eventually that will like the pre Covid-19 ‘normal’.

March 21st, 2021 at 2:52 pm

Jana762
Nothing wrong with the young players. I think that people with time that skip a Sinner, Medvedev, Thiem key match – to watch a rerun for the 16th time of Wimbledon 2008, are depriving themselves.
However, in my opinion, the attraction of the Big 3 persists, and even may spike higher as their retirements loom. “Twilight of the Gods” time.
Kyrgios? Yes, entertaining, talented, with one of the best serves ever, but is he to be the next “Gael Monfils” without Monfils’s affable nature?? Marketers and media of course love the “rebel boy, the king of snark, the jester” but that is part of the image thing. Performance, is another part for sports stars until they attain “legend” status. They will wait to some extent on “unproven new talent”, but if that person never amounts to much in their sport – expect no, or lowered off-court money from sponsors. Nick will continue to have a solid social media presence regardless of tennis success, and that is worth money. But the fact remains that Nick is often diffident about the sport, (See Note 1), on the downslope of rankings, and his 20s, has never won a big title, and blows hot and cold, match to match. Hasn’t played a full schedule since 2018.

(Note 1) Nick is diffident, but not in the seriously bad way Bernard Tomic is.

March 21st, 2021 at 3:53 pm

Chrisford1

It’s funny how you say far worse plagues. Just to give you some insight into the virus in Mexico alone. Sure the official numbers say 200,000 deaths. But I will say this much the reality here in Mexico for actual deaths is between 5 and 10 times the official amount. So that’s between 1 million and 2 million deaths. And I’m Leaning a lot closer to 2 million deaths. This is in Mexico alone. My point is, don’t go by official numbers alone. When the dust settles and the truth comes out about how bad this Pandemic actually was, you and others might be in for quite the shock. My wife and I got it in December. We still don’t have our taste and smell completely back, I lost 12 kilos and have been struggling to put the weight back on. My brain doesn’t tell me to eat like before. My body has changed. I’m still not back to how I used to be, and I am a fit 10-11% body fat 39 year old. This virus is no joke.

March 26th, 2021 at 9:24 pm