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Nick Kyrgios calls ATP ‘selfish’ over US Open plans
With the likes of Nadal and Djokovic expressing their reservations regarding their participation in the US Open, Kyrgios feels it is way too early to give the tournament a go-ahead.
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios has called the ATP selfish for trying to go ahead with the US Open while the country continues to battle the dreaded Covid-19. The number of Covid-19 cases in the USA has surpassed 20 lakh, with almost 4,00,000 cases registered in New York, where the Flushing Meadows is located. Besides, nationwide anti-racism protests are being held in the US.
With the likes of Rafael Nadal – who is the defending champion – and Novak Djokovic expressing their reservations regarding participating the US Open, Kyrgios feels it is insensible on the ATP’s part to give a go-ahead to the tournament.
“The ATP is trying to make the US Open go ahead. Selfish with everything going on at the moment,” Kyrgios, ranked just 40 but a showman who is popular with fans, said on Twitter. “Obviously Covid, but also with the riots. Together we need to overcome these challenges before tennis returns in my opinion.”
Since March, the tennis season has been put on hold. The French Open has been postponed while the Wimbledon has been cancelled. However, the US Open is likely to go ahead despite top players expressing their concerns in terms of travelling. Nadal last sounded apprehensive when asked about resuming competitive tennis, whereas Djokovic mulled the idea of pulling out of the US Open in order to prepare for French Open.
“Most of the players I have talked to were quite negative on whether they would go there. For me currently, as things stand, most probably the season will continue on clay at the beginning of September,” Djokovic said on Wednesday.
Authorities and organisers have drawn up a list of hygiene rules, including a 14-day quarantine period for players arriving in the United States while restricting their entourage to one person.
