ATP applauds Wimbledon's offer of equal prize

London:

The governing body of men's tennis applauded Wimbledon's decision to award equal prize money to men and women. "It's a good move for Wimbledon and for tennis overall," ATP president and executive chairman Etienne de Villiers said in a statement Friday. The All England Club agreed on Thursday to pay women the same as men for the first time starting at this year's tournament. The US Open and Australian Open have paid equal prize money for years. Wimbledon will pay equal money from the first round through the final at the June 25-July 8 grass-court championships. "We need to continue to reward and promote our players _ the stars of the game _ as we move towards our collective mission of making our sport even greater than before," de Villiers said. Not all the male players approve. "I don't think it's really fair," ninth-ranked Tommy Haas said on Thursday at the ATP tournament in Memphis, Tennessee. "I think the depth of men's tennis is much tougher than the women's, plus we play best of five sets." "Not to say that the women don't deserve it," the German said. "The top players train very hard and are very good tennis players, but in general I don't agree with it." Britain's Andy Murray defended the decision, saying men still get paid more in smaller tournaments and have more sponsorships. "Guys are obviously going to be annoyed if you go and play a five-hour match and then the women play a 45-minute match and they are getting the same money," Murray said. "But that's not really the point."