As expected upon Novak Djokovic's first press conference since the Professional Tennis Players Association's (PTPA) lawsuit against tennis governing bodies, journalists were eager to seek clarification from the former world No.1.
Djokovic, co-founder of the PTPA alongside Canada's Vasek Pospisil, began the union in 2019, formed to protect singles and doubles players from mistreatment and unfairness.
Shock news broke on Wednesday involving the PTPA publishing an official statement concerning player welfare expectations not being met, along with a range of other issues.
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The PTPA has filed a lawsuit against the ATP, WTA, ITF and the ITIA for negligence, arguing their case that they failed to keep professional players in their best interest.
But despite Djokovic being one of the union's co-founders, interestingly, he wasn't part of the list of 12 players acting as plaintiffs in the case.
"I’ve seen some changes, but there are still fundamental things to be done. I really hope that all the governing bodies, including the PTPA, will come together and solve these problems," Djokovic told the press in Miami ahead of the Masters event.
"To be quite frank with you, there are things that I agree with in the lawsuit, and then there are also things that I don’t agree with. I found that maybe some wording was quite strong in there, but I guess the legal team knows what they are doing and what kind of terminology they are supposed to use in order to get the right effect.
"I’ve never been a fan and supporter of division in our sport, but I’ve always fought for better representation and influence, and positioning of the players globally in our sport, which I think is still not where I think it should be and where most of the players think it should be. Not just in terms of prize money but in terms of many other points that have been also stated in that document."
The 37-year-old added: "I felt that I didn’t need to sign the letter because I want other players to step up.
"I’ve been very active, I believe, in tennis politics, trying to represent players in the player council, first as president for three years and being part of the council for almost seven years. I did my best during my very active career, even when I was playing a lot of matches and didn’t have much time or energy.
"However, I also felt that it was my responsibility and duty to try to use my influence and position to support players and fight for their rights."
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