Roger Federer agrees with US Open decision, says there would be sick people even next year

Shortly after the US Open announcing that it would stage the 2020 edition of its tournament as scheduled, but without any fans owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, five-time champion Roger Federer has come out in support of the move.

The Swiss had earlier expressed reservations about playing behind closed doors, saying that things would be 'difficult' without an atmosphere. But in the days since Roger Federer has had to postpone his comeback due to a complication with his knee surgery, and the prospect of additional time on the sidelines seems to have given him a new perspective.

At some point it is necessary to start the season: Roger Federer

Roger Federer

Roger Federer said in this regard that it is necessary to resume the stalled tennis season at some point or the other. The Swiss believes that the risk of illness would still be present even if the tournament were to return next year, so it might be worth biting the bullet now.

"At some point it is necessary to start the season," Roger Federer said. "Even if it were next year, I am sure that there will still be sick people, so it will never be super safe. I think the sooner we start, the better it will be."

#TENISxESPN A pesar de que no estará presente, Roger Federer respaldó la decisión de llevar a cabo el #USOpen. ¡Mirá! 👇https://t.co/o2yFrSppto

— ESPN Tenis (@ESPNtenis) June 16, 2020

20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, however, will not be a part of the 2020 US Open as he is out for the rest of the season after undergoing a second surgery on his troublesome right knee.

The US Open had earlier announced that it had received approval from New York Governer Andrew Cuomo to go ahead with the 2020 edition of its tournament. However, the tournament will not feature any spectators and will have stringent precautions in place to safeguard the health of players, officials and other stakeholders.

The @usopen will be held in Queens, NY, without fans from August 31 to September 13.The USTA will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing & transportation.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 16, 2020

With the US being the worst-hit COVID-19 country in the world, there were serious worries that the fourth Grand Slam tournament of the season would go the way of Wimbledon and be cancelled. The US Open organisers, however, have put rest to all rumors by making an official announcement that the tournament will be played from 31 August to 13 September.

A Statement on the 2020 US Open pic.twitter.com/WIrb77MXz5

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 16, 2020

They also announced that the Cincinnati Masters will be played at Flushing Meadows in the lead-up to the US Open. That means the US Open will be the first Major tournament since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.

It remains to be seen how many top players play the 2020 US Open. The world's top two men's singles players Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have already voiced their reluctance about participating in the tournament.

Earlier, Novak Djokovic had said that he could skip the US Open if just one member of his support staff was allowed to come along. The Serb also expressed disagreement with many other regulations proposed by the USTA in their bid to maintain social distancing.

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, had opined that tennis shouldn't resume until all players are able to travel to the tournament venues without restrictions. Moreover, with the French Open starting a week after the conclusion of the 2020 US Open, Nadal and Djokovic look more likely to resume their season on the European clay rather than play on hardcourt and then move to clay after a very short turnaround.

If Nadal and Djokovic are to pull out of the 2020 US Open, it would be the first time since the 1999 US Open that no member of the Big 3 would feature in a Grand Slam tournament. An 18-year-old Roger Federer had failed to qualify for the main draw at the 1999 US Open back then, while Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had yet to turn professional.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic boast a combined 12 US Open men's singles titles between them. Without the trio's presence the 2020 US Open would lose a lot of its sheen, and it would also end the Big 3's stranglehold on the Majors that's been going on since the 2017 Australian Open.