Novak Djokovic is not a big-time ratings draw, says controversial journalist
Controversial tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg recently made yet another jibe at World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Writing on his Twitter handle on Monday, Rothenberg claimed that although Djokovic is possibly the greatest male player of all time, he is not a "big-time ratings draw".
Novak Djokovic has unwittingly caused a lot of confusion in the tennis world over the last few days by refusing to confirm his participation in the Australian Open. It is unclear right now whether the Serb will play the Slam Down Under, given that he hasn't disclosed his vaccination status.
The state of Victoria, where the Australian Open is held, has made it mandatory for everyone entering the region to be vaccinated.
In that context, many fans have suggested that Novak Djokovic's absence could prove to be a dampener for the first Slam of the 2022 season. But Ben Rothenberg, who has long polarized opinion in the tennis world with his stern criticism of the Serb, doesn't think so.
The American journalist gave his thoughts on the topic in a reply to a Twitter user. Responding to the fan's claim that the 2022 ATP Cup has struggled to generate noise in the absence of Djokovic, Rothenberg claimed that the World No. 1 failed to attract a large TV audience last year.
Rothenberg specifically mentioned the ratings for the men's final at the 2021 US Open, where Djokovic finished as the runner-up.
"Have you seen the TV ratings for when Djokovic was going for a Grand Slam in the men's US Open final?" Rothenberg wrote. "Dude is not a big-time ratings draw. Very possibly the best player of all time, but he's not a ratings draw."
Have you seen the TV ratings for when Djokovic was going for a Grand Slam in the men's US Open final? Dude is not a big-time ratings draw. Very possibly the best player of all time, but he's not a ratings draw. twitter.com/Brownlulu/stat…
Rothenberg's controversial response was to a comment that called the American "delusional" for thinking that Djokovic's absence wouldn't hurt ratings.
@BenRothenberg You’re delusional if you think Novak’s absence won’t hurt ratings and asterisk whomever wins in his absence. Take a look at the attendance for the ATP Cup.
The thread was started by Rothenberg himself, when he suggested that Djokovic skipping the Australian Open would hurt his own relevance more than the tournament's.
To be clear here: if a healthy Djokovic skips the #AusOpen, it hurts his own relevance way, way more than it hurts the tournament's. twitter.com/boywearingvan/…
Is Ben Rothenberg correct in claiming that Novak Djokovic failed to boost TV ratings at the 2021 US Open?
The 2021 US Open final between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev was a monumental clash, with the Serb having been just one match away from completing the elusive Calendar Slam. But the match drew an average of just 2.05 million viewers on ESPN (peaking at 2.7 million).
Interestingly, those numbers were lower than the numbers for the women's final between first-time finalists Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez. The women's singles final pulled in an average of 2.44 million viewers and a peak audience of 3.4 million on ESPN, and also attracted a whopping 9.2 million viewers in the UK.
That said, there was a mitigating factor that could partly explain the difference in ratings. The men's final coincided with the NFL kick-off, which is a prime-time sports event in the US.
It is, therefore, tough to ascertain just how much of an impact Novak Djokovic had on the US Open final. But what is almost certain is that the topic of Djokovic's fan following at large will not die out any time soon.