Novak Djokovic confirms he has spoken to ATP as he pushes ahead with Players Association plans

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Novak Djokovic has confirmed he has met ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi as he presses ahead with his new Players’ Association.

Djokovic, along with Vasek Pospisil resigned from the ATP Players Council just before the US Open to launch their new breakaway union for players.

It has struggled to achieve much traction, though, with many figures in tennis – including Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – speaking out against it.

Djokovic, though, is determined to push ahead.

“I did meet Andrea,” Djokovic told reporters in Rome. “We had a player meeting and he did a presentation for us. It was about two days ago.

“We stayed for about two and a half hours and I stayed all the way through. I had a chat with him as well privately. We don’t have any issues.

“We always had a very transparent and open relationship, Andrea and myself. We have known each other for many years. I respect him a lot.”

Djokovic has been widely criticised for his decision to essentially divide tennis with the new Players’ Association, but he believes people are misunderstanding their intent.

“We never said we want to boycott or separate ourselves from the ATP or anything like that.

“We want to work together in this ecosystem with ATP and everyone else.”

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