Help
1/21/08 1:59 AM |
Two years marred by violent incidents at the Australian Open have former winner Pat Cash worried.
The 1988 champion says that the public relations disasters are strengthening the hand of Asian nations keen to stage the Grand Slam on a rotating basis with Melbourne. Last year, 150 people wee ejected from Melbourne Park after an opening-day brawl between rival Serb and Croatian supporters. And last week was marred by the pepper-spray gassing of a crowd of unruly Greek fans in the stands at mid-match, unprecedented in tennis history.
With even violence-prone, gun-owning New York able to maintain calm inside the tennis grounds during the US Open, the situation in the relatively mild cultural climate of Melbourne is becoming a serious.
“I was horrified to see the mass brawl between Serbs and Croats in 2007, and the scenes of police using capsicum spray on unruly Greek supporters last week must have helped the Chinese cause as much as any multi-million-dollar inducement,” Cash said in his ghost-written column in London's Sunday Times.
“Hooliganism has become a constant threat,” he added. “Getting tickets for the outside courts is a simple, inexpensive business, and those who want to be violently xenophobic see the tennis as a perfect battleground.”
Cash, whose offers of tennis development help have been repeatedly spurned by a new regime in place for a few years at Tennis Australia, runs a co-owns tennis academy in Queensland. With Asian interest - particularly China, which has staged the ATP season-ending Masters Cup for the past three years - growing, richer countries in the region are ready to throw millions into securing another tennis major in their fast-growing, economic powerhouse region.
“Tennis does not need to have its image tarnished by stories that flash around the world of Melbourne's hooligan problem. Any complacency by Tennis Australia could be fatal,” Cash added.
The tournament suffered yet another image blot at the weekend with the 4:30 am. Sunday finish of the Lleyton Hewitt - Marcos Baghdatis match, which was put on court around midnight and which made headlines around the world.
Tell a friend »
Scan QR code to access Unibet mobile.
Bet on Sports wherever you are and whenever you like, with Unibet's quick and simple mobile client you can place bets, check results and see live odds.
For more info about QR codes & scanners click here.
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2012, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
