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www.thevillagenews.co.za
15 April 2020
MY SPORT
Major tennis tournaments disrupted By Toni O'Hagan
T
ennis fans around the world have been sorely disappointed by the announcement that Wimbledon 2020 has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This will be the first time that it won’t be held since World War II. The implications for last year’s finalists are even more devastating, as eighttimes Wimbledon men’s champion, Roger Federer and seven-times women’s champ, Serena Williams are both 38 years old and may not have many more opportunities to win another Wimbledon. In men’s tennis, it could also curtail the efforts of Federer’s opponents to smash his Grand Slam record. Roger Federer currently holds the record of 20 Grand Slam titles (commonly referred to as ‘Slams’) arising from victories in the four Major tournaments on the tennis calendar, the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Breathing down Federer’s neck, is Rafael Nadal with 19 Slams and Novak Djokovic on 17. The novel Coronavirus has caused
multiple disruptions to the 2020 tennis calendar, including not only Wimbledon but all summer grass-court events, which are only viable during spring and summer. In addition, several clay-court and hardcourt events have had to be postponed following the announcement that professional tennis will not recommence before 13 July.
tre, which houses one of the main courts, is being utilised to prepare 2 500 meal packages per day for patients, workers and children.
Novak Djokovic, three Slams behind Federer, is favoured to equal or surpass the record. At 33 years old he has age on his side, being a year younger than Nadal and six years Federer’s junior. I guess one can never The Wimbledon record holder in the men’s singles, Roger discount Federer but, Federer, lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2019 finals. at 39 this year, I think another Major may be a bridge too far for the player who is referred to by many as The French Open in Paris, normally problem, the US Open, a hard-court the greatest of all time. scheduled for the last week in May, tournament, is scheduled to finish has now been postponed to 20 Sepjust one week before the French Federer’s loss to Djokovic in last year’s tember. For Nadal, who has won 12 Open. Nadal is the defending chamepic Wimbledon final, after holding French Open titles, this tournament pion in both these tournaments and two match points, could be the last probably offers the best opportunity will therefore be in the draw at both ‘hurrah’ for this tennis giant who has for him to equal Federer’s record. events, but his preparation for Paris deservedly been called the foremost However, postponement of the event will not follow his preferred schedule. ambassador of the sport. Over the and cancellation of the traditional last decade, Djokovic and Nadal have clay-court circuit prior to the French Furthermore, these dates are subject dominated the Majors. Djokovic has Open could disrupt Nadal’s normal to the containment of the virus in amassed 15 Majors during this time, preparation for this Major. time to make the necessary prepaNadal 13 and Federer 5. rations. At present, the Billie Jean Known as the ‘King of Clay’, Nadal National Tennis Center, home of Any further disruptions, leading to makes use of the tournaments in the US Open in Queens, New York cancellations or postponements, Monaco, Madrid, Barcelona and Rome has been turned into a make-shift could hinder Nadal and Djokovic in to build up to the Paris event. Now emergency hospital to assist with the their endeavours to equal or better all these lead-up tournaments have treatment of COVID-19 patients. The Federer’s Slam record. Let’s not forget been cancelled and to compound the Louis Armstrong Stadium in this cen-
either that there are a bunch of ‘young guns’ ready to make a move on the ‘Big 3’ who have earned 56 Grand Slams between them. The pretenders to the throne include Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The leading all-time Grand Slam winner on the ladies’ front is the Australian, Margaret Court who accumulated 24 Slams in her career. Serena Williams, just one behind, overtook Steffi Graf’s 22-Slam mark at the Australian Open in 2017 and has had a number of opportunities to equal Court’s record, but fallen short at the last hurdle. She will celebrate her 39th birthday this year and like Federer, another Major may be a bridge too far, but Williams has competed in the finals until recently and could just bag one more. The aspirations of athletes in many sporting codes could be adversely affected by cancellations or postponements of sporting events. Every sport has been affected but one must feel for the athletes who have prepared for an event like the Olympic Games, a highlight in their careers, which only comes around every four years. We hope for an early rather than a later end to the pandemic, not only for the sake of the athletes but also for us couch potatoes longing to watch and support our favourite athlete or team as we watch them on the field of play.
