With the Australian Open just around the corner, fans won’t get to see the legendary Roger Federer mount an attack on another Grand Slam. On Dec. 28, the 39-year-old veteran announced he would not be participating in the tournament as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
It was thought his decision to sit the Open could be because of his longer-than-expected recovery from knee surgery.
“In the end Roger ran out of time to get himself ready for the rigors of a Grand Slam, and he’s very disappointed he won’t be coming to Melbourne in 2021,” Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement. “We wish him all the best as he prepares for his comeback later in the year and look forward to seeing him in Melbourne in 2022.”
“I would have hoped that I would be 100 percent in October,” Federer told reporters at an awards ceremony in which he was named Switzerland’s best athlete of the last 70 years. “But I am still not today. It will be tight for the Australian Open. I hope that there will be something to see with me next year. If not, then that’s an unbelievable end point.”
According to former Brazilian tennis player Andre Sa, who manages public relations between the players and the Australian Grand Slam, Federer didn’t want to have to put his family through the annoyance of a quarantine, nor did he want to be away from them for an extended period.
Federer’s wife and children would not have been allowed to leave their hotel, although Federer himself would have been able to in order to train (five hours per day during quarantine). Had he made the trip alone, he would have to spend a month away from them.
“’Dude, I’m 39, four kids and 20 Grand Slam titles,’” Sa said, quoting Federer “’I am no longer in that period in which I can abandon my family for five weeks.’”
Federer’s absence will be a massive loss for the Australian Open, as well as a disappointment for fans. At his age, and even after 20 Grand Slam titles, Federer obviously remains one of the best players in the world. The Swiss icon is currently fifth in the world rankings, trailing only Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, and Daniil Medvedev.
The other four aforementioned stars are on course to play in Melbourne and are naturally expected to be favorites for all of the betting that takes place in the buildup. Fans looking for the best outlet with which to place their bets would do well to check out a review of popular bookmaker Bovada.
Nadal and Thiem, though, will be without their coaches for the Aussie Open next month. Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya, will not travel to the Australian continent due to the strict health and safety restrictions.
“After speaking with Rafa, we have decided that I won’t travel to Australia with the team,” Moya announced on social media. “I will follow the tournament from home and will stay with my family, parents and kids due to the delicate situation that Spain is living with the virus. Best of luck to the team.”
Nicolas Massu, Thiem’s coach, recently tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be joining his entourage just yet.
“Before we took off, we received the surprising message from Nicolas Massu that he had a positive test,” Thiem’s father, Wolfgang, told Austria’s Kurier Daily. “Nico will be tested again in a few days. We hope that he will be negative then and he will be able to follow suit soon.”
Englishman Andy Murray has also been hit with a setback, having tested positive for the coronavirus himself. Murray was scheduled to travel to Australia on one of the tournament’s charter flights but is self-isolating at home, still harboring hopes of being able to compete in Melbourne.
The 33-year-old has been to the Australian Open final on five occasions. His last appearance in Melbourne came in 2019, when he was beaten by Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round. Murray is understood to be working closely with Tiley to find a way to participate in the tournament once he is rid of the virus. The statement put out by Tennis Australia doesn’t seem very hopeful, however.
“Andy Murray has advised that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home in the UK,” it reads. “Unfortunately, this means he will be unable to join the official AO charter flights arriving in Australia in the coming days to go through the quarantine period with the other players. The AO fans love Andy, and we know how much he loves competing here in Melbourne and how hard he’d worked for this opportunity.”
Should Murray miss out, the Australian Open will be without two of the biggest names in tennis, although just two actually wouldn’t be that bad of a number considering the state of the world at the moment. Any absences, however, are unfortunate—especially when it’s Federer and Murray.
at this rate there could be more….
Rafa IS with his coach in Australia. He is accompanied by Francisco Roig.