The tennis world schedules have been completely upset by the Coronavirus pandemic. While the sport allows a natural self-distancing, things are considerably different at pro-level as restrictions to international travel are making movements difficult for top athletes. Things can get extremely complicated especially if players such as Roger Federer move around with a huge team.
The Australian Open, Roger Federer and the other athletes
While nothing is set in stone, it is quite plausible that the Australian Open will take place in the upcoming January as per schedules. According to Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia, many players such as Roger Federer are already making plans
to compete in the first slam of the year. In order to fight uncertainty, some could choose to move to Australia much earlier than usual such as by the beginning of December. This may avoid facing unforeseen travel restrictions or quarantines.“All the best players, both men, and women, look to Australia and perhaps think they are coming here already in early December,” said Tykey. “There will be a safe environment. Many tennis players, including Roger Federer, will not play for the rest of the year and look to the Australian Open.
In fact, all the players I’ve talked to are thinking about the new season for the restart of tennis. Personally, I think some of the best players are questioning this 2020 and that they believe it is too early to think about an official restart.”
Federer and the Australian Open
Roger has already planned to be back in competitions by the 2021 Australian Open trying to replicate the title that he conquered back in 2017 when he won the slam after a prolonged hiatus due to a procedure to his left knee. However, Federer’s coach Severin Luthi has just given the encouraging news that the Swiss Maestro may even choose to play a warm-up tournament before the Australian Open. That confirms Tiley’s theory that some players will spend a good part of December in Australian.
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Roger Federer in 2020
At the moment ranked no.4, Federer played his last match on the 30th of January when he lost to Novak Djokovic 7-61 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open.
Roger Federer’s most significant result of this year was reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open.