Tennis – Tiley says most players he has spoken to are keen on playing in Australia
Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley says he thinks tennis fans may have a couple more years to watch Roger Federer on the courts. Federer turned 39 years old in August and is not competing at the ongoing US Open as he recovers from knee surgery.
The Swiss legend has said that he will not play again this season but intends on returning in 2021. Fans have been speculating for many years now about the retirement of the tennis legend but Federer, himself, has declined to give a firm indication as to when he might eventually call it a day.
Craig Tiley hopes to motivate Roger Federer to keep playing till 2022
In an interview with World Wide of Sports, Tiley says, “I’ve known Roger for a long time, and I think we’ll have a couple more years of Roger.
I’ll certainly use that as motivation to encourage him to keep playing until we can give him a proper send off in front of a full crowd. I don’t know if it will have much impact, but I’ll give it a go!” Tiley added that he had spoken to several players and they were all looking forward to coming to Australia for the 2021 event.
“It’s hard to guarantee, but we’ve spoken to the players and they’re keen. Every player I’ve spoken to wants to look at 2021 as a new start.” The 58 year old Tennis Australia Chief also remains hopeful that the tournament will be able to welcome some fans next year.
The event has become a big favourite with the fans and the players in recent years. The 2020 Australian Open was the last Grand Slam event to be held prior to the global pandemic shutting down the tour in March. The French Open tournament was postponed to late September while the Wimbledon Championships have been cancelled this year for the first time since World War II.
The US Open has gotten underway this week in New York but under a very different set-up – with no fans, players being put in a bubble, no qualifying events and reduced doubles draws. Novak Djokovic won the men’s singles title this year while American Sofia Kenin won the women’s singles title.
Roger Federer has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles – the most by any player in men’s tennis history. He is currently ranked No. 4 and is regarded by many as the Greatest Player of All Time. (Image Credit – Australian Open)
