Roger Federer will start the quest for his 7th Australian Open against Steve Johnson on Monday. The talk of the moment is about the air quality in Melbourne. Some players like Denis Shapovalov, Rafael Nadal, and Petra Kvitova expressed their concern about the effect that the pollution may have on their bodies. However, the Swiss Legend has some other ideas.
Why Federer is not concerned by the air quality
During the pre-tournament press conference, when Federer was asked about his opinion about if it was right to play with this kind of pollution and the eventuality about moving the Australian Open to another city, Roger replied:
“Go in the streets, ask the people if they want it to move from Melbourne or from Australia.
No, I don’t worry. From what we were told yesterday in the player meeting, the Olympic Games and other competitions have the numbers set at 300. Ours is set at 200.
From that standpoint, I think we’re moving in a very safe range. We’re not here for six months straight at over 200. 300, you know. That’s when maybe effects really become bad.
No, I don’t worry too much, to be honest. I worry more for everybody else who is in the fire, in the smoke. Also, we can stay indoors all day. Quickly go out and play, go back in again. It’s not like we’re stuck outside at all times.”
Roger’s stance was different than Shapovalov’s that threatened to default if he thought the air quality was no good enough.
Roger Federer vs. Steve Johnson. H2H, Prediction
Roger will face Steve Johnson for the 3rd time in his career strong of a 2-0 record. The prediction is Roger winning in straight sets.
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2020
Ranked no.3, Roger played his last match on the 16th of November when he had to surrender to Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals.
Steve Johnson’s ranking and performance in 2020
Now ranked no.81, Johnson played his last match on the 18th of January when he defeated Stefano Travaglia 7-62 7-63 in the final of the to win his 4th career title.
At the moment, this season Johnson has a 7-1 win-loss record. Steve conquered 1 title in the Bendigo Challenger.
Roger Federer and Steve Johnson played each other 2 times. The head to head is 2-0 for Federer.
The last time that they played, Roger Federer won 7-63 7-64 in the 3rd round in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) in March 2017.
Denis Shapovalov’s ranking and performance in 2020
Now the world no.13 (career-high), Shapovalov played his last match on the 16th of January when he had to surrender to Ugo Humbert 7-5 6-4 in the quarter in Auckland.
Roger Federer |
| Embed from Getty Images |
