'I can say that I like Roger Federer for the beauty but...', says former No. 1

A year ago the Australian Open had already started by this time. Historically, the first tennis Grand Slam tournament starts in mid-January. Obviously, tennis was also heavily influenced by Covid and after the suspension of the season in 2020 from March to mid-August it started again, despite many difficulties. But we managed to play regularly, albeit without an audience, Roland Garros, the US Open and the Masters, as well as the Internazionali d'Italia. The 2021 calendar was upset, at least in the first three months, again due to the Coronavirus, and due to the very strict rules imposed by the Australian government which imposed two weeks of strict quarantine for all athletes who arrived in Australia, but despite this something is gone wrong and right now there are 72 tennis players in solitary confinement. And the controversies are obviously huge. Tournament director Craig Tiley, who is being pulled by the jacket from many sides, is trying to cheer everyone up and defends the choice to play the Grand Slam - which had also been questioned. Tiley spoke of the protocol: "They know this is a price to pay for having the privilege of competing for an A $ 80 million prize pool." Instead, Vika Azarenka threw petrol on the fire, who is in quarantine, despite being negative: "Fourteen days of quarantine are difficult to accept, I understand the frustration. We have a global pandemic: sometimes things happen and we have to accept them, adapt and go forward. I would like to make an appeal for cooperation for the local community that is going through a period of restrictions that it has not chosen, but which it has been forced to follow. I would like to ask to be sensitive towards those who have lost their jobs or loved ones in this period . Things are getting easier when we work together." Meanwhile, former World number 1 Simona Halep recently gave her thoughts on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, lauding both of them for some of their unique abilities. 

Halep pays tribute to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

“I can say that I like Roger Federer for the beauty of his game and the way he plays this sport,” Simona Halep said. “You have the feeling that he does not sweat and that he has the T-shirt the same as when the game started. Nadal is a totally different tennis player. He expresses hard work and a crazy desire to continue improving himself. They are different people both on and off the court. I don't like staying with either one since I like both.” Simona Halep also spoke about Rafael Nadal’s hegemony at Roland Garros. The 29-year-old believes Nadal is likely to continue his dominance in Paris, seeing how even the worst possible conditions this year failed to deter him. According to Halep, the Spaniard will add a few more French Open titles to his collection before calling it a day. "I firmly believe that he will continue to win at Roland Garros,” Halep said. “This year, the conditions in Paris were very harsh, cold, and humid. Still, he did not lose any set. I see him winning the title two or three more times.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2YrZteL