'Novak Djokovic surely isn’t doing PTPA for...', says co-founder of the ATP

• Tennis News
• Novak Djokovic

As a recent teaser for the 2021 Laver Cup shows, Team World will attempt to turn the script around against a weakened Team Europe that has its three legends, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, out of competition due to different reasons.

Federer has confirmed that he will need another knee surgery, Nadal is trying to recover from a foot injury and Djokovic is going through a difficult time after failing to capture the US Open. "If we don't win in Boston, I'll toast," says World Team captain John McEnroe in the video.

“This is the most important week of the year for me as captain. The goal is to win, ”says Bjorn Borg, Team Europe captain. The team led by Bjorn Borg has won all three Laver Cup editions that have taken place so far, leaving McEnroe's Team World hungry for a win.

However, even without players like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Bjorn Borg's Team Europe managed to reunite 5 of the top 10 players: US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and Andrey Rublev.

Norwegian Casper Ruud completes the training. On the other hand, John McEnroe has six men who will aim to complete what seemed, at least until now, an impossible mission: Reilly Opelka, John Isner, Nick Kyrgios, Diego Schwartzman, Denis Shapovalov and US Open semifinalist Felix Auger- Aliassime.

Dell opens up on Novak Djokovic

Donald Dell, co-founder of the ATP, believes Novak Djokovic's motives behind launching the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) should not be questioned. According to Dell, Djokovic is interested in protecting the interests of his peers and is not chasing financial rewards.

While writing for Sports Illustrated, Dell pointed out that the World No. 1 cannot possibly have any vested interests in the PTPA, as he is already extremely wealthy. "Djokovic surely isn’t doing this (PTPA) for himself," Donald Dell wrote.

"He doesn’t need the money, having pocketed more than $151 million in on-court earnings, not to mention the endorsement dollars. He doesn’t need the distraction, either," Dell went on. "No one would have blamed him had he stepped aside and let Pospisil do the heavy lifting as he pursued one of the most hallowed feats in tennis, something that hasn’t been matched in more than half a century, a sweep of the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the U.S.

Open." Djokovic has always maintained that he has a responsibility towards his fellow players and the development of the sport, a point that was highlighted by Dell in the article for SI.