溫網會外設施能應付莎拉波娃 - 網球 Tennis

'Wimbledon qualifying facilities could cope with Maria Sharapova'
BBC http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/39795441

Sharapova has not yet requested a wildcard for Wimbledon
莎拉波娃尚未向溫網提出外卡請求

Wimbledon qualifying could cope with the levels of interest should Maria
Sharapova take part in the Roehampton tournament, the All England Club says.
The Russian returned from a 15-month doping ban last month and could yet
qualify directly or receive a wildcard when they are confirmed on 20 June.

Wimbledon's qualifying event will be ticketed for the first time this year.

溫網會外賽今年起將收取門票。




All England Club chief Richard Lewis is "absolutely confident" Roehampton
could cope with Sharapova's presence. "We're used to organising events where
there's a lot of pressure on our facilities, so it would be nothing unusual
for us," he told BBC Sport.

俱樂部首席路易斯表示溫網會外能夠應付莎拉波娃。
會外賽也是溫網的一環，設施的需求一直都有，所以有沒有莎娃都是一樣的。

Lewis said Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, has not yet requested a
wildcard and there have been no discussions, either formal or informal, with
her or her team. Former world number one Sharapova, 30, reached the semi-
finals in Stuttgart on her return to action last month.

到目前為止沒有跟莎娃及他的團隊有任何外卡討論。
莎娃也沒有提出外卡需求。

As a result she is currently ranked 262nd - but she needs to be closer to the
top 100 to qualify directly for the main draw at Wimbledon, or the top 200 for
the qualifying tournament. She has wildcards at this month's events in Madrid
and Rome, where she can pick up more points before the Wimbledon main draw
entry deadline of 22 May and the qualifying deadline of 5 June.

莎娃目前排名 262，他需要前 200 才有辦法打會外、接近前 100 才能打會內。
目前他有馬德里及羅馬的外卡加持，而溫網會內的截止日期是 5/22 (會外 6/5)。

Wimbledon's qualifying tournament takes place from 26 to 29 June at the Bank
of England Sports Grounds, and until this year has been an unticketed event
with limited media facilities.

到去年為止，溫網會外從未收過門票，媒體設施也幾乎沒有。

This year there will be 1,000 tickets for sale at ￡5 each, with proceeds
going to the Wimbledon Foundation, along with video coverage of one court,
inflatable covers on two courts and an improved player lounge.

今年會外將販售一千張門票，每張五英鎊。
有一個球場將有直播。

Asked whether the changes were made with Sharapova's possible presence in
mind, Lewis said: "I know it does seem very convenient timing but it is
actually unrelated, genuinely unrelated, and we know that qualifying needs to
continue to be improved, just like we improve facilities here at the
Championships. It's part of an ongoing process."

溫網會外的設施是否為了莎娃而建設？路易斯表示這是巧合。
會外賽也是溫網的一環，就像溫網主場一樣，一直都有安排。

Sharapova was initially banned by the International Tennis Federation for two
years after testing positive for heart disease drug meldonium at the 2016
Australian Open. It was later reduced to 15 months by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport, who found that she was not an "intentional doper". The
issue of whether the French Open and Wimbledon, as Grand Slam events, should
offer wildcards to a player returning from a doping ban has divided opinion.

Andy Murray and Caroline Wozniacki have been among those opposed to her
receiving wildcards, while Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova were among
the more supportive players. The French federation will make its decision
known on 16 May, while Wimbledon's Tennis Committee meets to discuss who will
receive wildcards on 20 June. The committee will be made up of former British
number one Tim Henman, three club members including club chairman Philip
Brook, Debbie Jevans and Richard Stoakes, tournament referee Andrew Jarrett
and two LTA members, Martin Corrie and Cathy Sabin.

給予莎娃的意見一直以來都呈現非常兩極化的趨勢。
溫網將由這七位進行外卡表決。

前英國第一 Tim Henman
俱樂部主席 Philip Brook
俱樂部會員 Debbie Jevans
俱樂部會員 Richard Stoakes
溫網主裁判 Andrew Jarrett
英草網副席 Martin Corrie
英草網主席 Cathy Sabin

"Wildcards are what they say that they are," Lewis added. "There's a wide
range of criteria that any tournament would consider and from our point of
view it could be playing record, it could be whether they are British or not.

外卡本來就是外卡，任何賽事都有自己的給予標準。
對我們來說，這可能是比賽成績、也有可能是否為英國人。

"And to pre-empt the next question, who knows what they will consider on the
20 June? That's a matter for the committee and not something we can speculate
on at this stage."




Analysis

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent

Improvements to the Roehampton site have been on the All England Club's agenda
for a while, but I think it would be fair to say progress was given an extra
sense of urgency by the possible appearance of Sharapova and all those her
presence would attract.

雖然說會外場地的更新一直以來都在俱樂部的規劃內，但可以肯定的是這項計畫有被賦予
更多的壓力要馬上完成... 因為莎娃可能會出現在這裡，而他會吸引媒體或人群來。

The 2004 champion could well play herself into the main draw by reaching the
semi-finals in either Madrid or Rome, which allowed Richard Lewis to answer
questions about wildcards as purely hypothetical for now.

當然，路易斯一直就外卡這件事情不願表態，因為都是空談。畢竟莎娃還有兩場賽事可打
進溫網，馬德里跟羅馬的積分很有可能讓她直接進入會內。




Past Wimbledon form and success in tournaments leading up to the
championships, especially those on grass, are factors the committee will
consider. Sharapova will score highly in at least one of those categories, and
Lewis also told me that views expressed by some other players are not likely
to prove relevant.

過去溫網的成就及近期草地表現對於獲取外卡有一定程度的影響。
莎娃至少在成就這方面無懈可擊，而其他球員的看法並非能夠左右選委會的意見。

But he would not be drawn on how much weight Sharapova's anti-doping violation
would carry. That is the crux of the matter, and very much down to the seven
people who will file into the All England Club on Tuesday, 20 June.

所有的答案，都要等這七位在 6/20 決定。

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