Novak Djokovic – “Only 0.5 % of The World’s Tennis Players Enter The Top 100”

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have won their opening-round matches in Cincinnati, Ohio. Besides their on-court endeavors, both of them are now part of the ATP Player Council and they are considerate about increasing the prize money for the lower-ranked players on the Tour.

There is an endless struggle amongst the players to break into the top 100 rankings and gain recognition in on the circuit. A negligible fraction of players make it to the first hundred bracket of the ATP roster and Novak Djokovic is pushing for increasing prize money for the low-ranked players.

“They must be Grand Slam champions, they must enter the top 10. The fact is that only 0.5 percent of the world’s tennis players enter the top 100. And the remaining 99.5 percent? It’s life, you have to face it,” the World Number one, Djokovic said.

“I think there is too much pressure on the shoulders of young people. But I believe that as a society and sport we should see these things in a more sincere way and with greater emotional closeness for the boys who fail because you can always succeed in life. It is not the end of the world.”

The tennis players make it to the ATP Tour only after persevering all the lives on the training courts and to earn just an ATP point is a big challenge in itself for a budding tennis player. Roger Federer also made a note of the low-ranked players and notified them deserving higher pay.

“You must be able to do what you do best and make you, your family and your country proud,” Federer said. “Whatever it is. Let’s take another sport: if you are the 100th best athlete you are considered a champion. In tennis, we would say ‘Oh, it’s only the number 100’, and I disagree.”

Djokovic will next play the Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta who defeated John Isner in the first round. Federer will next be the victory of Stan Wawrinka and Andrey Rublev in his next match at Western & Southern Open 2019.