Roger Federer: 'I have the feeling that you haven’t heard so much from Africa'

Will Roger Federer play the Australian Open? It is not known. There is no shortage of doubts about the participation of the Swiss tennis champion in the first Grand Slam of 2021, which, as is well known, will be played on a slightly different date than usual, ie from 8 to 21 February. The problems related to the pandemic forced the organizers to change the usual time schedule, taking into account the two weeks of quarantine that the players will have to undergo, once landed, before being able to take the field. The question marks concern the state of health of the Swiss, after the double knee operation. Undoubtedly, the month of delay with which the Australian tournament will start is a favorable factor, but for the 39-year-old native of Basel, the management of a physique that is not that of a child must be taken into account. The fact that he decided to fly to Dubai to train better may be an encouraging sign, but precisely the evaluations are on the actual practicability of a demanding trip. In an interview with Swiss magazine Schweizer Illustrierte, Roger Federer shared how his foundation took care of the needs of African children at a time when the pandemic had affected them gravely.

Federer on how pandemic affected African kids

“I have the feeling that you haven’t heard so much from Africa – just how bad it is in the western world. But of course we had our board calls. And it was very difficult there. Schools closed and you can’t just do homeschooling like we do,” Roger Federer said. He revealed what made the pandemic incredibly difficult for these children was that the shutting down of schools threatened to deprive them of meals. “For these children, school is a place where they can not only learn but also eat. And suddenly, it all falls away. With the foundation, we tried to absorb this as well as possible and helped with packages, special organizations and local partners. But it was a big challenge,”  the Swiss said. He said the Match for Africa with Rafael Nadal at the turn of the year in Namibia helped him raise 3.5 million Swiss Francs for the foundation, which went a long way in supporting this initiative. “Fortunately, at the beginning of the year I was able to go to Namibia and play the Match for Africa with Rafa. That was an incredible experience and we were able to collect over 3.5 million Swiss Francs for the foundation,” Federer said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3ha52XU