Hewitt backs plan for breakaway group

World number one Lleyton Hewitt says he supports the idea of a breakaway International Men's Tennis Association (IMTA).

"For sure," Hewitt told reporters after reaching the third round of the Pacific Life Open with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov on Wednesday.

"With my experiences with the ATP Tour, I've got to look at it in a very positive way. Any way things can be helped, that's great for everyone.

"At the end of the day, I know with my dealings with the ATP that's there's a lot of room for improvement."

Hewitt, who has long been at odds with the ATP Tour, was the first top-10 player to say the men needed a new organisation to better serve their interests.

The proposed IMTA is headed by South African Wayne Ferreira and Laurence Tieleman of Belgium, who have hired a New York law firm to represent them.

They are upset their voices are not heard loudly enough in ATP decision-making and that they do not know enough about the organisation's finances.

After a meeting of 16 out of the top 20 men's players on Monday, ATP Players' Council vice president Todd Woodbridge said the IMTA would fizzle out.

"They don't have enough support," Woodbridge said. "It's unlikely they'll get off the ground because what they are proposing is already in place.

"We already have representatives and if you don't like them, you can vote in new ones and do it in the system that you have."

"Somehow I doubt that (it would fizzle out)," Hewitt said. "It was a different meeting.

"It was about prize money at the Grand Slams. It had nothing to do with Wayne Ferreira's things, I didn't think it was even mentioned."

Hewitt said he was unsure whether he would sign a document in support of the IMTA but appeared to be leaning in that direction.

"I have to go through and look at everything," he said. "I've spoken to players as well.

"At the moment there's a lot of room for improvement. If it's going to end up helping the players, then why not?"

The ATP board of directors is composed of seven members -- three representatives from the Players' Council, three tournament directors and chief executive officer Mark Miles.

But the player's representatives -- Ricardo Acioly, Tomas Carbonell and Gary Muller -- are paid by the ATP to be on the board, something Ferreira does not agree with.

VALUABLE INFORMATION

"The players need to be more informed about the business and we need to have someone with a business mentality to get valuable information for us so we know what's going on inside," he said.

"We're a little bit isolated from the ins and outs. We need an independent person representing our needs."

Woodbridge said the players already had the right representation.

"That's where the IMTA is not well thought out because we are the ones who are paying our board members," he said.

"The fact that we own 50 percent of the tour gives us more say than if we weren't part owners and then be at the whim of the people who own it.

"It's the players who vote and elect who we want. We put our trust in them. If we're not happy with the board, we can vote to restructure it."

Hewitt agreed with Ferreira that the opinions of the players were undervalued. "The biggest thing is getting the players's issues across better," he said.

"The ATP hasn't done enough for the players, as the players's voice more than anything. We say little things that don't get across to the right people.

"It goes to council meetings and nothing ever really happens about it. There have been issues over the last two or three years and it's been building for a long time."

			Search:			The Web		Rediff