Nick Kyrgios attacks French Open over decision to let fans participate

After skipping the US Open due to the fear of catching COVID-19, Nick Kyrgios is set to miss the last Grand Slam of a chaotic year as well since the Australian slammed the French Open’s officials’ decision to let spectators in the stands while a high number of infections occur daily in France.

From 13 to 16 September, there have been recorded between 6000 and 8000 daily infections with COVID-19 in the land of croissants, and that makes Kyrgios be reticent in playing the 2020 edition of Roland Garros.

“I am most likely not going to play, especially with the cases rising there. I don’t feel comfortable to go there and play,” Kyrgios told News Corp. “They are thinking about doing it with crowds. I don’t think the tournament is taking it seriously. It’s disappointing the level of seriousness they are taking towards it.”

Rafael Nadal partially agrees with Kyrgios’ concerns for French Open

The en-titre French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, is also not settled on whether he will play French Open or not. However, the Spaniard looks more optimistic than Nick Kyrgios.  “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what’s the situation’s going to look like in Roland Garros,” Nadal told journalists on Monday.

“Let’s see how the virus evolves the next couple of weeks. Hopefully in a good way. Doesn’t look like that, no? Let’s see. We need to be patient and we need to wait to see how the situation improves.”

Before taking a decision, Nadal is eager to test his fitness at Foro Italico. "You need matches to feel 100 percent… I'm excited about going back to competition, without big expectations. I know I have a tough first [match] against Pablo. He's playing great. So let's see, it's going to be a good test,” Nadal said during a press conference in Rome.

[My] expectation is to always go on court and try to feel competitive. That's the first goal. Go on the court, feel [that I'm] competitive, and then I will see how I feel and what kind of goals I can look for."

French Open is starting on the 21st of September with the qualifying matches that will be held under closed doors.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3hGhkWK