Rafael Nadal Not Sure About Playing The US Open
Speaking during a conference on his birthday yesterday, Rafael Nadal said he’s not so sure about travelling to New York for a possible US Open.
“If you (ask) me today, today I will say, ‘No,'” Nadal said with a shake of his head during a video conference call with The Associated Press and other wire services Thursday.
“In a couple of months? I don’t know. Hopefully, ‘Yes,'” he continued. “But we need to wait probably until we have more clear information about how the virus evolves and how the situation is going to be in New York in a couple of months. Because, of course, New York has been one of the places that have been very strongly hit by the virus. So let’s see.”
He added to the AP, “We can’t come back until the situation is completely safe enough in terms of (health),” he said, “and fair enough in terms of all the players from every single (country) can travel to the tournaments under safe circumstances to compete.”
The US Open has stated they will charter flights from Europe to New York, and put up players in a special area for the event.
Nadal said that during the quarantine he hasn’t been playing that much, but plans to
“I miss playing tennis,” he told the AP. “My mind is focused on trying to recover the normal life. The first thing we have to do is recover the normal.”
Nadal is of course the defending champion of the US Open, but the Spaniard will also weigh the French Open which could be held just weeks after New York. Now 34, how would Rafa be able to play in New York and then quickly go from the hard to the clay in just weeks to defend in Paris?
The good news is the August 31st US Open is still almost three months away. The tournament is expected to make a decision on its plans in the coming weeks.
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