With 13 out of the top 20 players in the world playing in the Geneva Open and Hamburg Open between May 17 to May 24 ahead of the French Open, it would mean that the likes of Novak Djovokic and world number one Jannik Sinner will not be travelling to France at least one week in advance. Four-time Grand Slam winner Jim Courier has criticised the top 20 players’ move ahead of the French Open, which starts May 25 and finds this decision shocking.
“With someone like Jannik Sinner there is a lot of insurance at play. For Novak Djokovic, he needs the matches because he has not played, and he is going to try and do what he did last year, which is get two or three matches and maybe try and pull the cord with a little bit of match toughness. But I am really shocked honestly, to see some of the names on here,” Courier told The Tennis Channel.
While the Hamburg Open will see the participation of eight players out of the top 20 in world rankings, including Sinner, the Geneva Open will see the participation of five players out of the top 20 in world rankings, including Djokovic. Hamburg Open remains an ATP 500 tournament while Geneva Open is an ATP 250 tournament. Courier finds the top players playing in these tournaments days ahead of the French Open as having some ‘commercial aspect’. “Let’s set the table, these tournaments can pay appearance fees so some of these players will have accepted a big guarantee, I am talking hundreds of thousands of dollars just to show up and play and they don’t have to win a match to get that money, so there is some commercial aspect to this. But the serious players who think they are going to win Roland Garros or challenge for Roland Garros, they do not play these tournaments,” added Courier.
The former two-time French Open champion also shared how the new ATP 500 bonus pool could have played a part in players playing the Hamburg Open. “One thing that is different this year, and this is the only time I have seen this, is that there is an ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg, which has been put into this section. That does not happen before Wimbledon. It does not happen before the US Open. There are (ATP) 250 tournaments around which you just don’t see the top players playing. There is a new bonus pool for ATP 500 this year. Six players who play at least four of these ATP 500 tournaments will share $3 million in extra money, so there are substantial financial benefits for players to play who are in that conversation,” added Courier.
Courier also warned players not to fall for the easy grab and miss out from ultimate glory. “So there is a lot that goes into this. But one thing which I know is that there is no amount of appearance money or bonus money that can replicate the kind of money you make if you win Roland Garros. So be careful what you wish for. If you are going for the easy grab, you might miss out on the life-changing generational wealth that sits at the end of these tournaments,” concluded the American.