The top men's tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, has weighed in on an equal-pay row in the sport by saying that men should receive more prize money than women.
Djokovic's comments came after he won the Indian Wells title for a record fifth time with a convincing 6-2 6-0 triumph over Milos Raonic.
The chief executive of the tournament, Raymond Moore, had sparked the latest discussion about equal pay by saying that the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) was a "lucky organisation" which "rides on the coattails" of the men.
Moore added: "If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport."
Moore later apologised for his comments but the row had been elevated again, and Djokovic suggested to reporters in California that men should receive more because of the greater number of spectators they attract.
"I understand how much power and energy WTA and all the advocates for equal prize money have invested in order to reach [equal pay]," Djokovic said.
"I applaud them for that, I honestly do. They fought for what they deserve and they got it. On the other hand I think that our men's tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men's tennis matches.
"I think that's one of the reasons why maybe we should get awarded more. Women should fight for what they think they deserve and we should fight for what we think we deserve. As long as it's like that and there is data and stats available upon who attracts more attention, spectators, who sells more tickets and stuff like that, in relation to that it has to be fairly distributed."
Women's world number one Serena Williams, who lost to Victoria Azarenka at Indian Wells yesterday, disagreed with Moore's comments by saying that last year's women's US Open final sold out before the men's did.
Pascal Lemesre
