Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have been heavily involved in ATP decisions over coronavirus response, says the ATP.
Federer is currently out injured following knee surgery, but ATP board member Mark Knowles says he was immediately in touch when the coronavirus crisis intensified last week.
Fellow ‘big three’ members Nadal and Djokovic were also consulted, highlighting the positive influence they have in tennis.
“I think one thing Roger, Rafa and Novak do not get enough credit for [is that] these guys are so involved which I think is incredibly lucky for all of us,” Knowles told the Tennis Channel.
“Three of the greatest players of all time but they are in on every decision.
“You would think Roger went under knee surgery say ‘I going to remove myself from the tour.
“But he was one of the first guys to get in touch and make sure things are happening and we are making decisions accordingly.”
Tennis was one of the first major sports to cancel events, and Knowles admits that moving so quickly posed tremendous challenges.
“It has been a very challenging time obviously. The world has really changed for us, not just for tennis but globally over the last five days.
“There’s been a lot of conference calls trying to get everybody aligned.
“We are a very international sport so the way we are made up with tournament board reps, player board reps, player council members, our constituents, all the players, they are all over the world.
“So trying to get everybody together and really come up with a unified decision, there are so many layers to this.
“Once you think you’ve got a handle on it, there’s a whole other element, whether it is prize money, pension, player commitment, media commitment.
“There are so many factors to this, it is going to take some time.
“But we feel like we have been out in front as the ATP Tour has been addressing all the issues.
“We’ve looked at almost everything and really tried to be out in front the best that we could.”
Roger Federer Nominated For Safe Hands Challenge By Bollywood Star Deepika Padukone
Swiss star Roger Federer has been nominated for the WHO designated Safe hands challenge. Even though it’s not the agency itself which has done the nomination, it is a very special person indeed. Roger has been nominated by Bollywood star Deepika Padukone for the challenge.
Deepika posted a video via her twitter account where she can be seen washing her hands vigorously. This is how she captioned the video –
“Thank You @DrTredos, for nominating me for the #SafeHands Challenge! #COVID 19 surely is an uphill health and public safety task, but all of us are in this fight together! I further nominate @rogerfederer, @Cristiano and @imVkohli to take up this challenge! #coronavirus #StaySafe”.
WHO had started the safe hands challenge to encourage people to adopt sanitary habits. In fact, regularly washing hands is a crucial element in countering the dangerous Coronavirus threat. This is what the organization tweeted officially kickstarting the challenge –
Talking about Deepika choosing Roger Federer, it is hardly a surprise. In fact, the Bollywood star’s affection for the Swiss tennis legend is not a secret. Let’s find out more about this connection between the two.
What is the connection between Deepika and Roger Federer?
Back in 2018, Deepika had revealed a startling detail in an interview. She had said that Federer would be the only man that she’d leave her then-boyfriend and current husband Bollywood star Ranveer Singh for.
Interestingly enough, this is not Deepika’s first or most newsworthy interaction with the tennis world. In 2016, Deepika was heavily linked with Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic. This was after the two were clicked together on a dinner date. In fact, tabloids blew up when Novak’s then-girlfriend Lidija Popovic claimed that he’d be happier in a relationship with Deepika Padukone!
For those who don’t know, Deepika has a sporting past herself. In fact, the actress is a retired Badminton player. Her affinity with sportspersons can hardly be questioned after this revelation.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer is still sitting out due to his devastating knee injury.
Let’s wait for his own Safe hands challenge.
