Tennis will be fine after Roger Federer, Nadal retire - Rio Open
The Rio Open Tournament Director Luiz Carvalho feels confident about the future of men's tennis after the eventual retirement of the bigger names. Speaking to Tennis World USA, Carvalho said: 'The top guys have won so many Grand Slam titles for a long time. It will definitely take some time before the young generation comes through and becomes such global ambassadors like (Rafael) Nadal, (Roger) Federer, Serena (Williams) and Maria (Sharapova). But I think it will be fine, tennis has a good tradition of big players and now you have the new generation of (Naomi) Osaka, (Alexander) Zverev and (Dominic) Thiem who starts winning Grand Slam titles and triumphs on the big stage.'
Carvalho also explained the reasons behind Rafael Nadal absence at the 2019 Rio Open. 'We always ask Rafa. He was the tournament ambassador for three years, he helped so much to develope this event in the beginning, but now he has a different schedule,' said Carvalho about the Spaniard, who will play in Acapulco on hard court instead of Rio
Carvalho also admitted that they tried to bring the 21-year-old Alexander Zverev in Rio next year, but despite the German often said that he would like to have a longer clay-court season during the year, they did not reach an agreement. 'We talk to a lot of players between Roland Garros and US Open, and we definitely talked to Zverev, but he decided to play in Rotterdam,' said Carvalho. 'It's normal that players take decisions depending on what's better for their schedule. During that time of the year players are coming from the Australian Open and they prepare for Indian Wells and Miami.'
ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal: Worse players than David Ferrer won a Grand Slam title
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2EejeyG
No comments