After Novak Djokovic, Rohan Bopanna expresses concerns about traveling to NYC
India's doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna recently expressed his views on the upcoming US Open tournament, in the wake of Novak Djokovic's concerns on the same issue. Bopanna said that it was impossible for him to travel from even Bengaluru to Chennai at the moment, so he had no idea how he would reach New York.
Talking to The New Indian Express, the 2017 French Open mixed doubles winner highlighted that since tennis was a global sport, organizing a Grand Slam during a pandemic would be very challenging for the top officials. The likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have already shown their reluctance to participate in the US Open, and Rohan Bopanna has similar thoughts.
New York is a million miles away for now: Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna has excelled in the doubles field, and even reached the final of the US Open in 2010 with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (where the Indo-Pak duo lost to Bob and Mike Bryan). That same year, Novak Djokovic reached the men's singles final in New York, only to bow down to Rafael Nadal.
Over the next nine years the Serbian star won the US Open title three times, while Rohan Bopanna tasted Slam success too - in mixed doubles, at Roland Garros 2017. Echoing the World No. 1's concerns, Bopanna said:
"Where is the talk of me, or anybody else, going to New York now? I cannot even come from Bengaluru to Chennai for the time being. New York is a million miles away for now."
"Tennis is a very global sport, think of players and support staff from over 100 countries descending to play a Major for example. How will that work out during a pandemic? So that is going to be a big part of the challenge," Rohan Bopanna continued.
Lower-ranked players like Dan Evans and Danielle Collins have, over the last week, urged Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to give the Majors a chance as they provide an earning opportunity for the rest. However, neither Evans nor Collins addressed the issue of how feasible it would be for non-Americans to travel to New York.
In addition to speaking about the US Open, Rohan Bopanna also shared details of his training schedule during this lockdown period. He said:
"The first few days were understandably rusty. I didn't even serve or have a session at full pelt. I am still waiting for the authorities to say what they are planning to do with the US swing. Anyway, there is no point in having full-on training sessions because you could pick up an injury after a long time away from the game."
The US Tennis Association will meet soon to discuss the future of the US Open. As of now the tourney is scheduled to begin from 31st August. but given how the higher-ranked players have expressed reservations, a delay or even a cancellation is not off the table.