Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Managing Dir Chris Kermode "has emerged as a leading candidate to become head of the ATP," according to Neil Harman of the LONDON TIMES. The succession to late ATP Exec Chair & President Brad Drewett, who "died in April from motor neurone disease, has been stalled in recent months as argument has gone back and forth between the tournaments and the players -- who own a 50-50 share in the ATP -- as to who possessed the right credentials." It is "understood that there are four principal hopefuls," including Kermode and three Americans: Chief Legal Officer & ATP Americas CEO Mark Young; BNP Paribas Open Tournament Dir and WTA BOD member Steve Simon; and former WTA President and NBA China CEO David Shoemaker. Kermode has been tournament director of the ATP AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club for the past seven years, during which time he has "developed a healthy relationship with the leading players that has been solidified by his confident building of the reputation of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the tour’s showpiece finale." The ATP BOD next week in London is "scheduled to deliberate and Drewett’s successor will be named by the end of the year." Kermode is "likely to be the choice of the players and as he has been responsible for the management of two highly successful tournaments, he ought to satisfy the demands of that side of the ATP governance" (LONDON TIMES, 10/29).
POINTING FINGERS: In London, Mike Dickson writes the "attempts of tennis to clamp down on doping were mired in confusion and recrimination" yesterday after tennis player Marin Cilic "emerged from his shortened ban for testing positive." Cilic appeared at the BNP Paribas Masters in his first match since Wimbledon, and afterwards "insisted that the sport’s anti-doping authorities had mistakenly overestimated the amount of Nikethamide found in his body when he failed a test back in May." Tennis player Jo Wilfried Tsonga earlier "articulated a general level of exasperation with the system when he declared that 'everybody is lying'" on the issue. Tsonga said, "Those who are testing us I feel are not always saying the truth, so with all these things we don't even know where the truth lies" (London DAILY MAIL, 10/29).
