Julien Benneteau claims Roger Federer has received favorable scheduling.GETTY IMAGES
Questions about "potential conflicts of interest involving Roger Federer have been raised" by recently-retired French player Julien Benneteau, who claimed that the 20-time grand slam champion received favorable scheduling at the Australian Open and US Open, according to Stuart Fraser of the LONDON TIMES. Benneteau, who reached a world ranking of No. 25 and won the men's doubles at the French Open in '14, believes that conflicts related to the Laver Cup, an annual team competition organized by Federer's management company, are "disturbing." In particular, Benneteau pointed toward business partnerships with Tennis Australia and the United States Tennis Association. TA CEO Craig Tiley, the tournament director of the Australian Open, and USTA CEO & Exec Dir Gordon Smith "are both listed as directors of Trident8 Limited," a company whose principal activity is described in accounts as "organising the Laver Cup tennis tournament." During a discussion on French radio last week, Benneteau used Federer's schedule at the past two Australian Opens -- both of which the Swiss won -- "to back up his claims." All 14 of Federer's matches were in the Rod Laver Arena and 12 of them were played during the "cooler night session" (LONDON TIMES, 11/13).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST?: In London, Simon Briggs reported in particular, Benneteau drew attention to the nexus formed by Team8 -- Federer's management company, which is fronted by his agent, Tony Godsick -- and two of the biggest national tennis associations. There are conflicts of interest, he suggested, "in mixing sporting and commercial connections in this way." In '17, Team8 launched the Laver Cup -- a "high-profile exhibition" in September -- with "substantial investment" from Tennis Australia. Benneteau said, "Roger is a legend of the game, an icon. Now, when he promotes the Laver Cup, there are a number of conflicts of interest that have become disturbing. With regard to the new Davis Cup, he says nothing about the date in November. When the date of September was mentioned [which clashes with the Laver Cup], he woke up and opposed Gerard Piqué [the frontman behind the new Davis Cup] which is where I find that the tennis authorities are incredibly weak. ... Another thing: in the organization of this event, there's Craig Tiley, the boss of the Australian Open, who deals with marketing and TV rights. He is paid by Roger Federer's agent and on the back of that, as luck would have it, Federer played 12 of his 14 matches at 7:30pm [when temperatures are cooler]" (TELEGRAPH, 11/12).
'DRIVING FORCE': In Sydney, Will Swanton reported a TA spokesperson said that Tiley was "unavailable for comment because he was en route to London," where Federer was playing the season-ending event at The O2. Premier players "have been asked for their preferred timeslots" at the Australian Open in recent years. The "bigger the name, the more likely they would have their wishes granted." Novak Djokovic said after his opening match at the ATP World Tour Finals that Federer "deserved a leg-up." Djokovic: "At the end of the day, in a way, he deserves the special treatment because he's six-time champion of Australian Open and arguably the best player ever. If he doesn't have it, who is going to have it? ... I understand Julien's point because sometimes it does seem that maybe some players get more favored year after year in certain tournaments. On the other side, you have to understand that Federer is a driving force of tennis in terms of revenue and attention" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 11/14).
