Romanian businessman and former tennis player Ion Tiriac has launched an attack on two of the biggest names in the world of tennis.
Tiriac, who won the 1970 French Open doubles title, has accused the 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer of behaving inappropriately when it comes to choosing the tournaments he plays in. Recently the Swiss world No.2 confirmed that he will skip the clay-court season for a second year in a row. He said that his decision to do so was to rest his body ahead of the grass swing, where he will be defending titles in Halle and Wimbledon.
Federer’s choice has drawn a critical response from Tiriac. During an interview with German magazine Sport Bild, the 78-year-old said the approach wouldn’t be accepted in other sports.
“Roger Federer is certainly the best player ever, but he does not behave correctly.” Said Tiriac.
“I do not think his approach is fair. He just picks out the tournaments he’s playing. This is hardly conceivable in other sports.”
Tiriac then went on to compare Federer with Lewis Hamilton. Saying that the F1 driver doesn’t pick and chose which races he participates in. The 2018 F1 season is made up of 21 races occurring over an eight-month period.
It wasn’t just Federer who was attacked by a blunt-speaking Tiriac. Serena Williams was also criticised by the Romanian. Despite winning 72 WTA titles, Tiriac has complained about women’s tennis lacking personalities. Saying that he would like to see somebody else other than Williams.
“With all due respect, but Serena Williams is 36 and 90 pounds I would like to see something else, I would like to see a player like Steffi Graf.” He said.
Equal prize money complaint
The Romanian has also hit out at equal prize money in the sport. Tiriac is the owner of the Madrid Open. A combined tournament played at the Caja Magica that is categorised as a Masters 1000 event for the men and as a Premier for the women. Both winners receive the same prize money. Although Tiriac is not a fan of the gesture despite fellow countrywoman Simona Halep winning the title the past two years.
“That’s where we mix politics with business. I’m hosting the tournament in Madrid, with the same prize money for men and women. But the revenue from women is only 25 percent. That’s a fact.” He said. “The men ask me: Ion, how long do you want to pay the women with my money?”
It is not the first time he has been vocal on equal pay. Last year he told reporters that he was against the idea of paying both men and women the same at combined tournaments. Claiming from a business perspective that it was not viable.
In grand slam tennis equal prize money has occurred at all the majors since Wimbledon 2007.
