Australian Open chief says date change likely
Wed Oct 1, 2:18 AM ET
By Greg Buckle
MELBOURNE, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The Australian Open is likely to be shifted
back a week to late January in 2006 and could be moved to March in 2007,
tournament chief executive Paul McNamee said on Wednesday.
McNamee said the men's and women's tours and the Davis Cup ending in Nov
ember meant the top players could rest for only a few weeks before prepa
ring for the Australian Open from January 19 to February 1.
He said world tennis needed to work together to shorten the season, rath
er than put pressure on the Australian Open to change their dates as a s
olution to the problem.
"The issue for the sport is whether we could get away with only a one-we
ek change ... or March, but that's in 2007," McNamee told a news confere
nce at the Australian Open tournament launch in Melbourne.
"If there was any change for 2006 it would be a maximum of one week, but
we haven't decided that yet.
"We of course would like to see a longer off-season. The end of the year
is too late.
"We have to keep pressure on the rest of the sport. It shouldn't be left
to Australia to solve all the problems and that's the thing that we're m
ost disappointed about."
Spain's world number one and French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero hi
nted last month he would consider skipping next year's Australian Open.
The 23-year-old is expected to join his Spanish team mates in Melbourne
on November 28-30 for the Davis Cup final against Australia.
McNamee said Tennis Australia would have to bring a recommendation to wo
rld tennis officials at the Houston Masters event next month.
McNamee said he was aware of clashes with international and domestic sch
edules, including the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne in March.
"It's true we're slightly early. We need to put pressure on the sport to
try to fix up the end of the year and take pressure off a more radical m
ove," he said.
WILLIAMS SISTERS TO PLAY
McNamee said Venus and Australian Open champion Serena Williams, who are
mourning the death of their sister Yetunde Price were keen to play in Me
lbourne. Price was fatally shot in a Los Angeles suburb last month.
"I'm very, very hopeful with Serena and Venus," McNamee said.
"I have no doubt they are intending to come, even though they have been
through something very traumatic."
McNamee added he was hopeful former Australia Federation Cup player Jele
na Dokic would return in January although he had received no confirmatio
n from the world number 26.
Dokic, 20, reverted to Yugoslav nationality in 2001 after her father Dam
ir said the Australian Open draw was rigged against his daughter. Dokic
has skipped the past two Australian Opens.
Prize money for the Open has risen by 4.5 percent to A$19 million ($13
million), to be split evenly between the men and women, McNamee said.
American Andre Agassi beat Germany's Rainer Schuettler in the men's final
this year after top seed Serena Williams defeated second seed Venus Willi
ams in the women's final.
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