'If you can’t beat Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic...', says former No. 1

The ATP Finals in London closed one of the most anomalous and toughest seasons in tennis history. The health emergency forced the ATP Tour to be suspended for about six months and the organizers of some historic events, one above all Wimbledon, to raise the white flag with the hope of starting again stronger than before next year. The last tournament of the major circuit saw Daniil Medvedev win and ended exactly on November 22nd. Despite this, the time has already come to think about 2021 to leave nothing to chance; a 2021 that promises to be still full of difficulties. The ATP Cup has already been canceled and the Australian government has decided to close the borders at least until next January. In Australia we are working tirelessly to make the next edition of the Australian Open a reality. The problems relate to travel from one part of the world to another and the mandatory 14-day quarantine that players will have to comply with. Some local media have spoken in the last hours of an alleged letter that Craig Tiley, director of the tournament, would have sent to tennis players and tennis players. "It took some time, but the good news is that we will be able to organize the Australian Open from February 8", this should be the fundamental content of the letter. All competing athletes, along with the members of their team who will follow them, will have to observe the 14-day quarantine starting from January 15th, but the Government of the state of Victoria will allow them to train and properly prepare for such an important appointment . According to the team, during the period of isolation, no one will be able to leave their hotel room for more than five hours a day. Now only the last step is awaited: the official status of the tournament organizers and Tennis Australia. Former World number 1 Marat Safin said he retired at just 29-years-old as he didn’t want to player second fiddle to Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal.

Marat Safin on the Big 3

“In this sport you are either in the top five or you are nowhere,” Marat Safin told the Russian press. “I didn’t want to continue playing tennis as a world number 11, 12 or 20. “Playing with young tennis players, getting tired and running with a very sore knee only discredits you. I have always believed that it is best to stop playing sports before the sport leaves you. If my knee hadn’t bothered me so much, I could have played for a few years, but I was already tired of this world. I was bored. I had no motivation and started losing to unknown players. If you can’t beat players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic anymore, why continue?”

 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/37DrpAu