GILLES SIMON STIRS A CONTROVERSY
Inside the Wimbledon press room, wise guys quipped that the Supreme Court just upheld Obamacare, but struck down equal pay for men and women in pro tennis.
It was a joke, (okay, a bad joke) b
ut Gilles Simon’s contention that the women should no longer get equal pay drew much comment. The Frenchmen said he didn’t feel women should play the best of five sets, but contended that his point was about entertainment. “In every other sport, for singers, for everything, you’re just paid by the public directly,” said Simon, who contended men’s tennis is “more interesting than women’s. As in any business or anything, you just have to be paid just about that.”
When asked whether the fact that he had just lost in three straight sets undermined his position, he replied, “No, doesn’t change anything. My point doesn’t depend of my result. It’s not only my view, it’s the view of everybody in the locker room, even for you, the media. It’s just difficult to talk about it. I don’t know why. “
Shadowing the conversation was a Maria Sharapova comment. The popular and wealthy Russian/Californian, whose brand reportedly is worth $125 million, said, “Look, we women have fought so long to get equal prize money. It was a big challenge and nobody really supported us. It’s been a few years since we’ve gotten that. We’re all really proud of it, and we continue to build the sport and make it bigger. No matter what anyone says, or the criticisms that we get, despite everything else, I’m sure there are a few more people that watch my matches than his.”
Asked about Maria’s point, Simon (who once was ranked No. 6 and has earned over $6 million in career prize money) replied, “Of course … I don’t have to respond to that. It’s not about me … Maria is more famous than me. I know. She deserves to win more money than me. That is not the problem. [But] just check the price of the ticket from the men’s and women’s final.”
“Would it be fair,” a reporter asked, “for you to forfeit 20% of your fee because you only played three‑quarters of your match?
Simon, who now resides in Switzerland, said, “Time is not a problem. It’s just about the general thing, about the show.
Simon then was asked, “Do you feel you delivered entertainment today? ”Well, I don’t care … You can ask everybody. When Shakira is singing, she is winning more money than most of the men because everybody want to see her.” Simon said that players ranked below 80 can’t afford to hire a coach and need better prize money.
A reporter than put things in a bigger perspective, saying, “You are familiar with the long struggle for equal rights, that for a long time women had no vote, and that even now there are many jobs, the same job, the man will get more money than the women … Are you aware of the importance of this struggle to many, many people?
Simon replied, “I am well aware of the struggle. This is a fair fight. Actually, I’m just for it in life. But it just doesn’t work in entertainment, because entertainment is not about being a man or woman. It’s just about the public coming to watch. It’s not about how hard you work. You can work hard and be a very famous singer. You can work hard and just sing in your bathroom … It’s maybe sad, but this is the way it works … In life in general, of course, I’m for it. Tomorrow, if women’s tennis is more interesting than men’s, if the price of the women’s final is higher than the price of the men’s, they will deserve to win more than us. That’s just the way it works. This is nothing new … Just to say it has to be equal because there is a struggle in life in general, I’m not sure it’s a very good argument … You said it. But you media are doing exactly the same … I will see four pages on the men and one on the women, so that’s what you are saying. That’s what you said the last four years … You said that women have no No. 1, that men’s tennis was amazing.”
American Sloane Stephens made clear she was not a fan of Simon. “I don’t care what he says about anything. He hit me with a ball the first time I was a ball kid. He hit me in the chest, because he lost a point and the set. He turned around and slammed the ball with his racket and hit me … and I’ve never spoken to him since.”
WTA chief Stacey Allaster asserted that “Tennis, including the Grand Slams, is aligned with our modern, progressive society when it comes to the principle of equality. I can’t believe in this day and age that anyone can still think otherwise.”
But when asked about the controversy, Andy Murray said because women play the best of three, they have the energy to make more money by also playing doubles, as did French Open singles finalist Sara Eranni, who won the Roland Garros doubles.
When asked about the controversy, Roger Federer basically sidestepped the issue.
Serena Williams didn’t. She gushed, “Oh, my gosh … you know I can’t bite my tongue … A lot more people are watching Maria than Simon. She’s way hotter than he is. Women’s tennis is really awesome. It’s a great fight. We fought for years with Billie Jean King, and Venus as well, really set the pattern on what we should do. I started playing at two years old. I’m sure he started when he was two, as well. I worked just as hard as he did. I’m sure he continues to work hard as I work hard, as well as everyone that’s on a professional level. We are all very professional and all work hard.”
Andy Roddick joined the debate, saying, “Listen, let’s not make this a gender issue. I don’t know what numbers are … [but] I’m sure there’s a way to figure out who people are coming to watch. I’m sure there’s TV ratings to look at. I’m sure there are ample numbers to dissect. As any business goes, you look at those numbers and then decide where it goes from there … I guarantee you, both sides, men and women, we’re going to be extremely biased towards our own product … It does seem like Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, get a disproportionate amount of attention. … Find me a business where someone who is not making as much as the next guy isn’t asking to make as much as that person. We’re acting like this is a new issue. In any business model, whoever is not making the most money in the company wants a raise or wants more money … Tennis is a business, those top three guys, they sell the most. They’re bringing the most dollars into the sport, therefore they’re getting compensated as the three most productive people … I’m the first one to say being a guy ranked 60 to 120 in tennis is a lot harder than a lot of the other sports just because there’s no guaranteed salary and you’re working for what you get on a weekly basis.
Listen, you make based on what you bring in. So I’m challenging you guys to look at the numbers and just see who is bringing in what.”
Roddick was then asked if market forces should be the sole criteria or whether history and discrimination should also factor in.
The Texan replied, “I’m sure it all should … I don’t know what you guys are going to find because I haven’t done the research. But if you say that [the income you make be based on the revenues you generate] … I don’t think you should be deemed automatically a sexist. I don’t see how that’s a fair deal either. I don’t think it’s the only thing that should be brought into the equation.
“A lot of what I heard Gilles saying was basically he’s proud of the product that the guys put out there. I’m sure he could have gone about it in maybe a not‑so‑forward way. But in the same token, I saw the responses. They’re like, he needs to shut up or he needs to wake up earlier. If it was said the other way around, I feel like that would have been a massive blowup.
“Let’s just keep things on an even playing field.”
Brit Tim Henman said that “when Wimbledon goes out to sell the TV rights of the Championships, they sell it as a whole, men and women.”
When it comes to equal pay, Lindsay Davenport asserted, “It’s silly to discuss it in this day and age.”
NOTES FROM THE WIMBLEDON BATTLEGROUND
CURIOUS QUESTION: Maria Sharapova was asked, “You’re an American‑based Russian coached by a Swede. Do you know anything about cricket?
LOUD MARIA BACKS FUTURE BAN ON GRUNTING: Sharapova survived a problematic, two-day battle with Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova. She conceded that, “I started with no motor whatsoever … She hit a 95 miles per hour ace in the body, I think. I didn’t think that was possible. Then when she was asked whether she could stop grunting, she said, “Certainly not now, not since I’ve been doing it since I was four …It’s definitely tough and impossible to do when you’ve played this sport for over 20 years.” But she backed the WTA’s initiative to monitor and eventually curb excessive grunting by using handheld devices on court. She said WTA chief Stacey Allaster was “the first person actually that’s sat down with many people and coaches and sports psychologists and analysts and really review what could be done.
“I’m really happy with the system that she put forth. Going to the juniors, going to the academies that are producing the young players and putting a system in place, I think it’s extremely smart.”
THAT’S FOR SURE: If there were a triathlon which combined humility, obsessiveness and biceps, Rafa Nadal would be the all-time champ.
QUESTIONING THE INTEGRITY OF WIMBLEDON: After being called for 11 foot-faults while playing British hero Andy Murray, Croat Ivo Karlovic said he felt cheated. He said, “It was a little bit outrageous. In my whole life, ever since I was eight … I didn’t do this many foot faults … It was outrageous, outrageous. It’s Wimbledon, Centre Court, and they do this. I mean, this is BS … You do the calculation. If these 10 points, I win? … You do the math. … I feel cheated. On a Grand Slam, Centre Court, I don’t know what to say … Right now I’m angry about it, little bit pissed, because I don’t expect it here. Even though it is against English guy who they always want to win, but I don’t expect it here.” When asked whether he thought Wimbledon was so desperate that would call the foot faults, Karolovic said “Not Wimbledon, but whole England ‑ or UK, sorry.”
PUN OF THE DAY: IT asked Mardy Fish’s wife – model/actress Stacey Gardner – about playing just a month after undergoing a surgical procedure to deal with his racing heart. The model/actress said she was proud of her husband. “He was determined not to let anything stop him, to be doing this well at Wimbledon without having played matches is pretty incredible. It shows a lot of dedication and heart – no pun intended.”
Fish beat Brit James Ward, ranked No. 173, in five tough matches and will now play the surging young Belgian, David Goffin who is ranked No. 70.
NOT EXACTLY CURING CANCER: A reporter said to Maria Sharapova, “I’m from Sweden and curious about your journey together with [your current coach] Thomas Hogstedt. Could you describe that a little bit, please? Maria replied, “Let’s not make it sound so dramatic. It’s not like curing cancer here.”
GO FIGURE: In a manner suggestive of Daniela Hantuchova at Indian Wells, Bulgarain Tsvetana Pironkova plays in a whole different manner at Wimbledon.
THE BUMP: The surprisingly agitated Rafa Nadal and Czech Lukas Rosol, ranked No. 100, collided during a changeover during the third set of their marathon Centre Court match.
THE PLAINTIVE CRY THAT’S STILL HEARD ON CENTRE COURT: Com’ on Timy
STRICT DOGGIE DIET, NOT SO STRICT HUMAN DIET: Novak Djokovic said his little dog Pierre follows the same gluten-free diet he does … Nineteen year old Sloane Stephens loves her curries and confided, “I eat a lot of heavy, greasy food, so when I stop playing, I will be fat.”
BEST BABY FACE IN TENNIS: Belgian David Goffin.
ONE BAKER WHO’S STILL COOKING: American Brian Baker, who was playing league tennis in Tennessee last summer, continued his feel-good comeback when he destroyed the Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen. Baker, who won the first eight games of the match, is now into the third round. Early in his career Baker scored a big win over French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, then his body left him down and he had to have four surgeries in five years. The low point was going in for Tommy John surgery on his elbow, which he knew would require a tough recovery. Watching his young contemporaries do well on the circuit was not that much of a downer. It was a motivational tool. He said, “It wasn’t that this guy is doing well, this sucks. It was more these guys are doing well. When I come back I can do it.”
Baker has certainly been doing it. Before the French Open he won a small tournament in Nice. He beat veteran Xavier Malisse at Roland Garros and then fell to France’s Giles Simon on Court Centrale in five sets.
Baker’s win today means he will get to the third round of a Slam for the first time. He will face France’s Benoit Paire, who is ranked No. 55.
All this begs the question of why has Baker been able to come back with such seeming ease? Baker himself said he didn’t know why.
