Novak Djokovic claims Justin Gimelstob is the players' 'biggest asset' despite assault conviction
World No 1 Novak Djokovic raised the prospect of a return to office for disgraced tennis administrator Justin Gimelstob, who announced his resignation from the ATP board on Wednesday after being found guilty of a “violent, unprovoked” attack.
Tennis suffered significant reputational damage from Gimelstob’s presence on the ATP board despite the shadow of his battery case, which became public knowledge when he was arrested in November and finally reached a guilty verdict on April 22.
On Monday, Djokovic addressed the affair for the first time since that judgement. He described Gimelstob’s resignation as a “wise decision”, but also positioned his erstwhile ally as the “biggest asset” in the players’ ongoing efforts to elicit fair compensation for their labour.
“It's unfortunate because I think he has been probably the biggest asset that players had in the last 10-plus years,” said Djokovic. “But at the same time, these are kind of unfortunate circumstances and he needs to go back and deal with that case, try to find the right balance and the right state of mind before he eventually tries to come back.”
Rather than lying low during his final six months on the ATP board, Gimelstob led his fellow player representatives – who include his former Tennis Channel colleague David Egdes – in a controversial vote in Indian Wells to deny a contract renewal to the tour’s president Chris Kermode.
On Sunday in Madrid, Roger Federer suggested that Kermode – whose contract runs out at the end of the year – should perhaps “be put back into the mix”. Asked about this issue on Monday, Djokovic replied: “I actually think that technically he has the right to be a candidate officially for another mandate... if this happens, yeah, why not... I think several companies have been engaged now in the recruiting process, so hopefully we can have quality candidates.”
Meanwhile, Katie Boulter’s team has confirmed that the British No 2 will not be participating in the French Open - or, indeed, any of the clay-court season - after the back injury she picked up at last month’s Fed Cup proved more serious than expected.
