Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer ‘could skip US Open and French Open’ because of tennis calendar pile-up
TENNIS greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could be forced to choose which grand slams they play later this year due to a calendar backlog.
The French Open was rescheduled for September after coronavirus forced it to be postponed from the normal slot at the end of May.
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That is just one week after the US Open is due to end in September, which forces the likes of Nadal, 33, and Federer, 38, into some tough decisions.
According to Australian doubles great Todd Woodbridge, ageing greats Nadal and Federer might be forced to choose one of the grand slams rather than both.
Federer has, in the past, skipped the French Open to focus his efforts on Wimbledon while the hard courts in America have traditionally been tough on Nadal’s knees.
TENNIS MAJORS IN 2020
Jan 20-Feb 2 – Australian Open (won by Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin)
Jun 29-Jul 12 – Wimbledon
Aug 24-Sept 13 – US Open
Sept 20-Oct 4 – French Open
Speaking to Channel Nine, Woodbridge said: “What does Rafael Nadal do? Does he play the US Open or does he save himself for the French? Because the likelihood is you can’t win both of those back-to-back.
“The US Open is brutal in terms of heat and recovery, and the French is brutal because of the physicality that is required playing on clay.
“It really does open up the possibility of players choosing one or the other. The majority won’t, but I’d expect Roger Federer to play the US Open and not the French, and Rafa to do the reverse.
“Can Novak win both back-to-back? Historically the French and Wimbledon were two weeks apart, but at least you had a week off, followed by a week’s preparation. That’s not the case here.
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“And let’s say you’re a doubles player, and you go deep at the US Open. Then you can’t get to qualifying for the French. There’s a lot of issues that I think have been disregarded by choosing the date that they have.”
There has yet to be a decision on whether Wimbledon will take place in the summer amid the coronavirus crisis.
Tournament officials last week asked ball boys and girls to stop training after schools were shut down by prime minister Boris Johnson.