Is Gilles Simon an anti-feminist?

In the wake of his election to the ATP Player's Council, French player Gilles Simon has disclosed that he is opposed to the prize money equality that is set for men's and women's events.

His reasoning for this includes the atmosphere of play on the men's tour and how much longer the men spend on court especially when it comes to the best of five sets format featured at the Grand Slams. Simon was also disappointed by the decision to make the Rome tournament a joint event with the women players, complaining that the practice courts at joint events aren't as obtainable as in separate events.

A few prominent women players had this to say about Simon's demeanor and words toward the WTA Tour.

"He hit me with a ball when I was ball kid for the first time. He hit me right in my chest because he lost a point and set he turned around and slammed the ball and it hit me," US up-and-comer Sloane Stephens told a small group of U.S. reporters. "Whatever he says, that means nothing to me. We had discussion about it on the court last year because he was trying to kick me off the practice court in Estoril and I'm like dude you don't have this court. His coach was nice and he asked me, 'Why don't you like him?' and I said because when I was 10 he hit me with the ball and he didn't even say sorry and kind of walked off. So I was like, 'I don't like him."

"I think people come out and watch us play because they want to watch us play. I think there are a bunch of men's matches that go five that are pretty boring to watch, as well. It's not like a best-of-five match is better than a best-of-three." - Samantha Stosur.

When told about Simon's comments towards the number of free practice courts, fellow French player Marion Bartoli had this to say: "He needs to get up earlier."

This stance may possibly endanger his position in the Player's Council as well as the kind of support he'll get throughout the tournament in Wimbledon, but Simon doesn't care if he offends anyone with his demeaning comments and on a last note he had this to say:  “Am I going to incur the wrath of feminist organizations? I don’t care."

Novak Djokovic ends year with record in prize money

Current number one Novak Djokovic has made not only big waves on the tour this year, but also in prize money rankings.

He has earned a record $12.6 million just during this season not including endorsements. This is an all-time record for a single season, surpassing the $10.1 million record that was shared by Roger Federer for his 2007 season and Rafael Nadal’s 2010 season.

Djokovic won 10 titles this year, including 3 Grand Slams at Wimbledon, US Open and the Australian Open. This record is truly impressive for someone so young and we hope to see some great tennis from him in 2012. Will Novak reach the legendary status of Federer and Nadal if he continues to play the way he played this year?

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ATP World Tour Finals 2011: Line-Up

We have reached the last tournament of the ATP season featuring the 8 best players of the year competing for the ultimate honor in men’s tennis. Let’s take a look at the two groups and who will feature in each one.

Group A:

1. Novak Djokovic

3. Andy Murray

5. David Ferrer

7. Tomas Berdych

Group B:

2. Rafael Nadal

4. Roger Federer

6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

8. Mardy Fish

Play is due to start on Sunday November 20, 2011 at 7 am Eastern time with coverage being streamed on the Tennis Channel in the US. First up is Group B with Federer vs Tsonga and later on Nadal vs Fish. There should be some very good tennis up on display during the week and it will be exciting to see which of the Top 4 will hold up best, or if a dark horse should emerge from the shadows to claim the title at this year’s year-ending championships. Stay tuned!

Murray uses excuse for his loss to Berdych in Paris

After losing to Tomas Berdych in the Paris Masters quarterfinals, Andy Murray complained that his opponent should not have been given three new balls during the third set of their match. While facing two break points, the umpire Fergus Murphy gave Berdych new balls because he complained that those were too soft. Here is what the Brit had to say:

“Tomas decided that the balls were too soft—which they weren’t,” asserted Murray. “The umpire gave him three brand new balls to serve with … I wasn’t aware that they were just changing three brand new balls. Then that totally changed the way the ball plays and the court plays. That was what happened. I just asked, ‘Is it not normal to let the opponent also see the balls?”

Murray then also received a warning for his behavior towards the umpire, ”Actually I said bollocks to the chair umpire and that got me a warning. I have been to watch a lot of football matches and you say a lot worse than that and you don’t get yellow card,” he said.

Despite all the commotion, Berdych won the match with a score of 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 and Murray went home the loser. If you ask me, Murray is just wasting his time complaining about this and should think about his next tournament. What happened, happened and no excuse is going to help him win the match. Both players played with the new balls and Berdych was the one who handled it better, end of story.

Novak Djokovic claims first US Open title in 2011

Whether or not this was the best match of the year, it definitely was the most entertaining in my memory. When the two biggest players in the world are playing at the biggest venue in tennis, you are bound to see one of the greatest spectacles in sport.

Both players had high expectations coming into the final of this year’s US Open. Novak Djokovic was going in with his top ranking and his prominent win-loss record of only 2 losses for the whole year. Nadal came in as the defending champion with plenty on the line. The winner of this match would be determined by the level of their concentration and the true-ness of their grit.

The first set was marked by great athletic ability with both players running around the court like wild horses on a field. Retrieving every ball as if their life depended on it, most rallies lasted more than 10-15 shots. And surprisingly, the quality of play didn’t disappoint the crowd for the rest of the match. It was hard to believe how these two could get to so many balls back in the court, which really emphasizes the importance of physical readiness and how it could help you be a better player.

After crushing Nadal in the first two sets, when Nadal was leading 2-0 in both of them, it looked as though Rafa had no more gas in his tank. But just when you think he is down, he got back up and took Djokovic to a tiebreak which he eventually won with a score of 7-3.

In the fourth set, Djokovic started receiving treatment for his back, sending the crowd into a wave of whispers and ultimately giving us the question if Djokovic will have a vulnerability that will work to Nadal’s liking. Nadal however did not deliver as expected and Djokovic took his chance to become this year’s US Open champion.

Throwing his racquet in disbelief and sinking to his knees, Djokovic’s box erupted into a frenzy. The ceremony was then quickly set up and we heard a few words from both great champions. Nadal stepped up to take his finalist plate and humbly admitted that Djokovic was just too good for him today. Djokovic also congratulated Nadal for his run to the final and gave a message of salute to his box and of course to the fans. Both players also said a few words about the incident that has rocked New York and the whole world for the last 10 years and commemorated those who have fallen and are still affected by this tragedy.

It was a great match and a great finish to the last Grand Slam of the year, but the year is still not over and there is still more great tennis to come!

Congrats to Novak for his amazing win and year so far. He goes home with the trophy and a prize of US$2.3 million dollars because of his position in this year’s Race to the US Open. Nadal on the other hand goes back to the drawing board to work on what went wrong today and how he could dismantle Djokovic in their next meeting.