Eastbourne news  by Daily Telegraph

from Daily Telegraph London

Show-court snub sparks supporters' rebellion
By John Parsons (Filed: 20/06/2002)

Tennis fans in Eastbourne protested yesterday in support of a complaint by Jelena Dokic that, as top seed, her matches should be on Centre Court.

They were angry that after paying nearly £100 for a weekly pass to the main show court at the Britannic Asset Management Championships, they were denied the chance of seeing the tournament's highest-ranked player.

While Dokic's supporters had little difficulty collecting signatures for a petition protesting over what they claim is a steady downgrading of the 28-year-old event, one of their leaders, Sue Mynard of Leeds, said there was also annoyance over a change of ticketing policy about which she insisted the supporters had not been forewarned.

"At the start of the week, as in past years, those of us with weekly Centre Court seats wanted access to No 1 Court while there was still room, but that is no longer allowed," she said.

"Yet they put Dokic in there, with hardly anyone watching, and we weren't allowed in." Centre Court ticketholders would have had to buy an additional day ticket or a £50 weekly pass for admission. Other supporters carried placards saying: "Top seeds on Centre Court" and "Loyalty before profit".

Ms Mynard said: "We regarded it as an insult to Dokic and to us. It's the first time Dokic [who lost to Daja Bedanova] has been here and after what happened she probably won't come again.

"Some of us have already booked our tickets for next year. I've been coming here 14 years but seen the tournament gradually going downhill. We want to draw attention to what's happening and save the tournament."

The supporters' concern is justified. BBC Television's enthusiasm for the tournament seems bound to wane without some guarantee of a stronger entry list in future.

John Feaver, the tournament director, said forms were distributed to the protestors asking them to list their grievances but said the decision to charge everybody for Court No 1 admission "had been on every booking form".

The discontent has been simmering for several years. Last year there were protests about a lack of matches on outside courts.

Much of the fault for the absence of star names, though, rests with the Women's Tennis Association. Long gone are the days when Grand Slam champions such as Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Jana Novotna and Monica Seles were regular entries.

In 1996, the WTA reduced the entry from 64 to 32 and allowed a rival tournament to be staged during the same week in 's-Hertogenbosch, Holland. That inevitably diluted the availability of the leading players.

The WTA are contracted to supply Eastbourne, which offers three times as much prize money as the Dutch event, at least one player in the world's top three and two in the top eight of what are termed "special exempt" players.

But for injury, Lindsay Davenport would have been the top-three player.

Anna Kournikova and Sandrine Testud, both of whom also lost their opening matches, were the two in the "special exempt" top eight.

The tournament in Holland has three players from the world's top 11, though it is hardly surprising that Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin are playing there as they are able to commute from their homes in Belgium.

For Clijsters, there is also the added attraction of her boyfriend, the world champion Lleyton Hewitt, taking part in the men's singles at the same tournament.