Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal given musical tribute by specially-abled boy
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were among a group of players who were paid a heart-warming musical tribute by a specially-abled boy. Chris, born with a rare genetic disorder called Alstrom Syndrome that causes blindness and multi-organ failure, created the song out of his sadness at the lack of tennis over the past two months.
In a video posted by the ATP Tour on their Twitter and Instagram handles, Chris sang a set of immaculately crafted lyrics where he expressed his love for the tour and his hope that scientists find a cure for the COVID-19 disease soon.
The boy, who cannot see, mentioned the names of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic among a bevy of players in a song that goes like this:
We miss the ATP Tour
We hope scientists can find a cure.
We miss Fed, Nadal and Berrettini
Djoker, Nick and of course Fognini.
Now Nadal is cooking.
Fed is playing in the snow with his hat.
Djoker is having a haircut
And Thiem likes dogs more than cats.
You got to love Stefanos posting Nick's number to fans
And Isner describing how to make a heart with his hands.
The break has taught the fans a lot of new things.
One of them is Stan the Man.
He's a social media king.
Murray is unbeatable at the virtual tennis game.
Medvedev can howl and his dog can do the same.
We are ready for the players to get back on court.
The world can't wait to watch this wonderful sport.
We miss the ATP Tour
We can't wait for the scientists to find a cure.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and the others have kept themselves busy during the lock-down
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, the ATP tour stands suspended till 13 July. The players have been trying out a variety of activities during this forced break, which Chris cleverly referenced in his song.
Roger Federer did actually post a video of himself playing in the snow, while Rafael Nadal showed off his cooking skills.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, has been getting haircuts from his wife Jelena.
And not to be left behind, Stefanos Tsitsipas has caused some mischief of his own - by supposedly making Nick Kyrgios' phone number public.
Aside from all these fun pranks, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have also made use of the downtime by catching up with each other in a video chat - which garnered over a million views.
During the conversation, the two legends enquired about the well-being of each others' families and talked about a range of other topics. The self-confessed technologically-challenged Nadal expressed his difficulty in using Instagram, much to the amusement of Roger Federer.
In the hilarious conversation, Federer asked the Spaniard if he always played tennis left-handed. Nadal replied that he started off with a two-handed righty forehand before Uncle Toni asked him to switch to his other hand.
Roger Federer has had an even longer break than the rest, considering he hasn't played a single match since his semifinal exit to eventual champion Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. The Swiss took some time off after that to undertake a knee surgery, hoping to rejoin the tour during the grass leg.
While that is clearly not going to happen now given the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, Chris' funny musical tribute would've certainly brought a smile to Federer's face.