Madrid:Spanish tennis star and world no.2 Rafael Nadal said that he doesn’t expect any tournaments to happen in the near future until the coronavirus pandemic is brought under control.
“I am not worrying about tennis now. I do physical work to not deteriorate my body,” said Nadal, who turns 34 this year on Spanish radio station Cadena Cope.The season is suspended until June at least with Wimbledon being cancelled for the first time since the Second World War.
The French Open, which Nadal has won a record 12 times has been postponed to September for now while the women’s leg of the Roger’s Cup, one of the key tournaments in the buildup to the US Open, has been called off. “Tennis is not like football, our sport involves more travelling. Until there is a cure, the situation will be really complicated. We need to be responsible. I cannot see an official tournament at short or medium-term,” he said. A lot of concerns have been raised on the survival of many players in the absence of tournaments. Nadal said that if the need comes, he will be happy to play behind closed doors.
“Health comes first. But if it would be possible to play behind closed doors, I would be very happy. I have talked many hours with Novak (Djokovic) to see how we can help our sport,” saidNadal. Nadal has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most in history for a male player, as well as a record 35 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 21 ATP Tour 500 titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles.
In addition, Nadal has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks, including being the year-end No. 1 five times. In majors, Nadal has won a record twelve French Open titles, four US Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open title, and won at least one Grand Slam every year for a record ten consecutive years (2005–2014). Nadal has won 85 career titles overall, including the most outdoor titles in the Open Era (83) and a record 59 titles on clay. With 81 consecutive wins on clay, Nadal holds the record for the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era. (IANS)
