DAVIS CUP - SPAIN vs AUSTRALIA

December 10, 2000

Francesco Ricci Bitti

Juan Margets

FRANCESCO RICCI BITTI: Good morning. This press conference, I want to tell you we have some problem because you have been stopped so you get in late and I have to leave because I have to say welcome to the King and the Royal Family. Juan Margets is here. I would like to thank you for being here. As a tradition, we are available to answer any question. I would say the plan this year was to talk about what the ITF started in cooperation with the other constituency of the game, a problem that we call Marketing the Game. We felt that our game is very wealthy, but we have to face competition. Tennis has more and more competition, basically in attracting the junior to more sports, pastime, different kind of a pastime. I would mention one that is very well-known to you, Internet, or these kind of computerized sports. I have to say that this kept our attention. We decided to have a summit for this issue in London, in Windsor. It was very successful. It was attended by all the representatives of the ATP, WTA agencies. We gather and we had some conclusions. I will ask the coordinator of in project inside, the vice president, Juan Margets. He has also the facility today perhaps to answer the Spanish journalists in their own language, and then somebody will translate for you. This is my introduction, but as I am here, we are available to answer any question regarding Davis Cup and to ask Juan to give a few words about the issue. I hope we distributed the press release which you can better understand what is our aim, starting with this project: marketing the Game, Marketing Tennis, The Way Forward is the Future, after the summit that has been held in Windsor. So, thanks. If Juan wants to add something, then I am available to answer any questions.

JUAN MARGETS: Thank you, Francesco, buenos dais. As the President mentioned, all these projects about marketing the game deals with image and participation in tennis. We want people playing more tennis, more often, and having more fun. After the summit that took place in Windsor, near London, in November, we have identified a number of key projects for the future. You have them in the press release, but I will repeat those projects where we see that the ITF can play facilitator as a leading role are the following. i should say those are projects that we need to assess when and what are the funds available to implement them. A generic advertising campaign aimed at participation where we would probably be coordinating, but the delivery and distribution (inaudible). Another project that we think would be very helpful in this area would be an international rating or handicap conversion chart. In other words, a common language. When we meet each other, we know that we play tennis. Unless we are from the same country, or unless we've been international level players, we don't have a language to know what is our respective level. So any conversion, or common language, a way to know if a second series of a Spanish player is similar to a minus 15 in France or whatever. That would be the second project. A third one that would clearly involve close cooperation with the Tours would be a global strategy to cross-promote our events. We are trying to promote the brand tennis. Obviously, when you look to the calendar, there are tournaments every week that are managed, owned by different constitutions. Any step in the direction of using one tournament to promote the next one, irrespectively of who is the owner, would be obviously for the benefit of the game. The fourth key project would be the international school's internet project. This is a middle term ambitious project where he would try to create an internet program, nothing to do with playing tennis itself, an internet program for schools. To give an easy example, where we could try to study geography by following the itinerary of a tennis player in one year. Of course, the idea on that would be, depending on the country, we could be using the appropriate tennis player. I think it's quite clear. Tim Henman starts playing in Australia, then probably goes to the US, then comes to Europe. That would be a way to teach geography. The last one is national or Team Tennis strategy and exploitation plan. I always say the same in this case. When my daughter was younger and we were being in this city, you would allow me to put this example, as we wanted to watch soccer, we got in the stadium, looked to the field, you knew, "This is my team, this is my opponent." Identification was pretty obvious. In tennis, unless you know the players, you don't identify them. So acknowledging the dress code in tennis, of course, to think about systems of identifying teams in the team events would be something that, again, would probably expand the interest of the game. My last comments are going to be about the mechanism, how do we deliver that, how do we implement that. In the summit, there was a debate. This is a partnership project in itself. We see ourselves, the ITF, as the facilitators. But the key actors in each country are going to be the national associations or appropriate body. At the same time, internationally, depending on the content of each project, we will be looking to different partners. The leading force, the institution sitting in the driving seat, we see as the ITF. But according to the projects I mentioned before, we would clearly see involvement, strong involvement, of different constituencies. For instance, in the identification of the teams project, clearly, obviously, we need the industry and we need the national associations that own the teams. In the case of the Internet school project, we would probably need for each country a strong support from the national association to get some sort of help from the education authorities. On the Internet ratings and handicap, we will need expertise of coaches, et cetera. In the cross-promotion of events, clearly the Tours would be our partners. I would like to finalize saying, again, that we see ourselves, the ITF, as the facilitators and as the driving force, but not the institution that will be implementing the project itself in each specific market or country. As you can imagine, that would be a huge budget question. That concludes my presentation. As Francesco said, we would be happy to answer any question.

JUAN MARGETS: There were different options to implement this idea. Maybe if further detail is required, Andrew Coe, our head of project development, is there. Basically the layout that we see, it could be some discreet, according to the nowadays code of clothing, a discreet identification of the national colors, national flag, something like that. The way to achieve it is, of course, in agreement with the companies, with the manufacturers, where they would be producing a specific team apparel where the teams could still wear their own brand. I know this is not easy. Although this is not a proposal, what I'm going to say now is not a proposal, I think it would be important to acknowledge that those rights, the uniformity rights, when you're playing on a team, belong to the national association. Tennis is a very particular sport. Those rights are normally not exercised, although you would agree with me that they are exercised in some cases at the Olympic Games. As I said, this is a middle term project. We need to talk a lot with the industry.

FRANCESCO RICCI BITTI: Can I say something? Generally, I like very much your statement. But any situation has to be judged according to what has been done historically. As you know, step back is always a difficult exercise. My point, I agree with you, as you know, but in general my point is that we have to step back step by step, small step by step. Why? My experience with the Olympics, it's terrible. Unfortunately, it has not been much publicized. It's terrible. Our sport is very professional, very individual. There are constituencies that perhaps you didn't consider enough that are the agents between all the ones that you mentioned. I would say that they're more responsible perhaps than the clothing manufacturing companies. For instance, everybody knows that I made this example not to answer but to make if possible clearer what is the situation. The agent knows that the Olympic rules, talking about governing rules, governing body rules, because ITF has given a little bit too much, now we have to get something back. It's not so easy. Olympic never release Olympic authority as a governing body. The rule is very clear. But there are many players that sign without knowing contract against the rule, existing rule. You know, many cases, not recently, but starting from Barcelona, every year is a pain, this matter in the Olympic. The rule is there, but the agents make their player signing agreement, they include in tournaments where the rules are very clear. We could try to do that, but is not so easy. Perhaps is more a matter of compromising and discussions. But surely the aim that you mentioned would be a great aim to improve our sport. Again, we talk about image, that would be a great step. But we have given up too much historically, and we try now in cooperation with all the people you mentioned, and many others, as I said, to make the understanding that is better for everybody - this is a key issue - to make that understanding that something that is good for the individual is not good in general. Tennis is a very fragmented, as I always said, and confusing image in terms of ruling, in terms of behavior. This is a good chance to do better.

FRANCESCO RICCI BITTI: Could be good point again. Could help us. The trend in tennis, when you give up something, is always very difficult. The trend is just now the Players Association raised another point that is against this. I recognize they want bigger and more patch. This is an issue of these days. I don't think is very positive, but is on the table. We try to manage, as you said, what is good for our game. Is not easy because, as I said, if you give up something, stepping back is always difficult.

FRANCESCO RICCI BITTI: I would say what I feel. I think the problem, if you want my personal, not as the president of ITF, but my personal feeling is that we had some problem. More than as a tennis player, I felt a little bit disturbed at the end of the first match the first day only, to have a disturbance between the first and second service. I was a tennis player, this tell me a lot. In try to defend the situation here. I don't think it changed anything in the games. Second, you could not expect in a big city, this was not the case in Santander, I don't know who was in Santander, in a middle city, the participation is so high, the people are so keen not to do something wrong. In a great city, my experience, Milan or something, the people are not tennis people. We could not pretend to have tennis people in the crowd. Unfortunately, I think this is the situation in Barcelona. On one side is good to get people that are not usual tennis fan, but with some danger. I believe, after the first day, after we had some small period of time, the umpires have taken control of everything.

FRANCESCO RICCI BITTI: I try to give you an explanation. I ask my friends in Spain, more close to the feeling here, he could say something about that. My position is that we took control. I said only a few times in the last part of the first match were to me disturbing.

FRANCESCO RICCI BITTI: As I said in Lisbon, I make the example and then leave, they were talking about Davis Cup not always in a very positive way, but all the time. I said to Mark Miles, "Is good, because it means Davis Cup is a lot of interest." If everybody is talking during the Masters, that I feel is the most important tournament, the tournament that appoint the No. 1 of the year, I think it should be considered and I am happy because I am a partner now to consider the most important events of the year. If they talk about Davis Cup for two days, is not bad. The only problem is you have to listen what they said and you have not time to counter what they said. There is always the two sides. Is good to listen to talk about that. I think you are right, all this matter has escalate and for the press is always good. It is more than what it was. At the end of the story, we have to control. Davis Cup is a very particular environment, has a very particular atmosphere. I think we have to be careful on controlling all the situation. This is clear. Davis Cup is a very -- we say all the time that we are the guardian. If you are the guardian, you have to take care of the small or big problem. Ciao. (Mr. Ricci Bitti leaves press conference.)

JUAN MARGETS: Well, if you like me to finish on this point, Francesco mentioned that I'm Spanish. That's absolutely irrelevant. As you know during the summer, there was a slight discrepancy between the committee I chair and the Spanish Federation on where this final -- not where in terms of city, but whether indoors or outdoors, where this final should have been played. In that case, I didn't feel any problem at all in considering that, although we have had very good weather, it was not in the best interest of the competition to play outdoors. My old friends in the Spanish team, I hope they will forgive me for that. I think the key question when we are talking about crowd behavior is that we need to monitor the growth of the game. We need to monitor the growth of attendance. John, we spoke informally yesterday. Let me tell you first something. Probably to consider that what has been happening here in terms of booing affects the image of a sport, only tennis among the really popular and international global sports, only in tennis probably is an issue. I'm not saying more than that. This is a conversation that would not take place in football, basketball, et cetera.

JUAN MARGETS: Well, yes. But sport is an extremely popular sport in some country. I don't compare. I don't compare. I'm not an expert in golf. I don't see a competition in golf with 142 nations. I don't want to exaggerate the cultural differences, but you would agree with me, and I don't want to joke, but after two years and a half in England, I know exactly that the way the expression that people express themselves in terms of passion is different. But I think that our role, talking about development of matches, is to ensure that both teams, and of course the opponent, the visiting team, can play in fair conditions. This has to do basically with the continuity of the game, the continuity of the play.

JUAN MARGETS: Well, again, I think as chairman of the Davis Cup committee, it only came to my mind the consideration of something -- that something has to be done on a question towards the end of the first set -- sorry, towards the end of the first match on Friday. I repeat, we need a balance. I think what Francesco is saying, this is a city with a yearly tournament that gets 8,000 people, the Spanish Open in Barcelona. Consequently, for me the key at the end of the answer is education, which is not a process that takes one day. I can tell you stories of different countries that we should not use as an example. What I read sometimes, "But it's much worse than ever." For me is not a valid question. What I would like to say is I've been to a number of ties in South America. The sound of people near me, even for myself being from the south of Europe, it was sounding to me very aggressive. Surprising enough, at the end of the match, this guy yelling near my ear, I say, "I'm going to have a problem now." He was smiling and congratulating me. I would like to hope, and I desire - I desire - now as a citizen of this city, that this is going to be the reaction of the team at the end. But, again, the point here is what we have to focus is in the officiating aspect. I think the continuity of the game, as I said, has been secured.

JUAN MARGETS: Again, it's obvious that Duarte was expressing -- his body language was clearly encouraging the spectators, to support the local team when he felt that was the team to support the whole team, in a very active way. We can, again, not necessarily to refer, I can think about other captains which have a very strong body expression - Yannick. I didn't see Duarte trying to provoke the spectators to discontinue the game. Again, I think that my view is that the noise in support of a team to be strong is acceptable. I think that that's what is about Davis Cup. I need to link one thing with another. I would say that, yes, Duarte is a very active captain, but I didn't see him trying to create a reaction from the crowd to bother the Australians in the time to play. Only one further comment. I do not share, I do not share, as someone who has been in tennis for four years, I do not share the attitude of booing to stop the supporters of the visiting team applauding a good point. That's not an officiating question in my understanding.

JUAN MARGETS: I think I expressed.

JUAN MARGETS: When they were booing?

JUAN MARGETS: Again, this is not something to rule. This is doing with fair sportsmanship. I will repeat, I do share the view, but there's nothing to rule unless his attitude or any captain's attitude would lead the crowd to interrupt. When I say that, I insist, I don't like booing to stop the applauses for a winning point. I do not like it. Any declaration that would have gone in the direction of, "Let's bother the opponent when they are going to serve," that's absolutely to be ruled.

JUAN MARGETS: I do not agree with this point. I don't think that this is disturbing the players. I think the players need to understand, and we need to understand, and I still respect the views on the sportsmanship, that noise between end of point and the moment where the player is ready to serve, whatever the rule say, this period of 10, 12, 15, up to 20 probably, whatever seconds, you know the rule, is not an officiating question.

JUAN MARGETS: No. I mean, again, booing, is an unfriendly sound. Are you suggesting we --.

JUAN MARGETS: I insist, I gave my views, personal point of view. But in my official position, I have nothing to say on that. Thank you.

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