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Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski, in an interview with Tennis365, has made a strong plea for the US Open to take place this year no matter what the circumstances. Rusedski pointed out that even though Roger Federer is not keen on playing without spectators, a majority of the players would be desperate to get back on tour as soon as possible.
"We need to find a way to get the US Open on this year, with or without spectators," Greg Rusedski said.
The ATP tour has been suspended until the end of July due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Several tournaments have been cancelled already, but the US Open and the French Open are still on course to take place.
The Roland Garros organizers are reportedly looking at all possible options to ensure that the tournament takes place this year. That has put even more pressure on the USTA to make a quick decision with regard to the possibility of playing without fans.
Greg Rusedski believes the 2020 edition of the US Open could attract new tennis viewership, so the losses on account of non-existent ticket sales could be compensated for - at least in part.
"Think about the millions of fans around the world who will be watching if we get tennis back. This is a chance to bring tennis to even bigger audiences than usual, and even if we don't have fans in stadiums, we will have them in their millions around the world watching on TV." Rusedski said.
If we can do it the right way, then we need to find a way to get tennis back: Rusedski
Many believe it would be an absurd situation with no spectators to support their favorite players in the stadiums. Moreover, player safety would still be a matter of concern; traveling from abroad and movement within the grounds could pose significant challenges to the organizers.
One of the alternatives that has been suggested is for each player in the tournament to be assigned a separate individual space. Rusedski stressed that measures to get tennis underway at Flushing Meadows should only be taken if it is safe for all the players and the tournament staff.
"We still have June, July, August before the US Open is due to being played and by then, a lot of businesses will have opened up again. So long as the players feel safe and we can do it the right way, then we need to find a way to get tennis back," Rusedski said.
The Brit also emphasized how several tennis players have been getting back to training ever since the lockdown measures have been eased. Most prominent among those players is Rafael Nadal, who last week hit the practice courts again after a long break.
Roger Federer may want fans, but if I were on tour I'd be willing to come back now: Rusedski
Not all players are open to the idea of the event being staged behind closed doors. Many are of the opinion that the fans are an integral part of the sport, since they bring in the money.
Recently, Roger Federer had suggested he would not be too intent to return to action in empty stadiums, as he believes in giving back to his fans. A few days after that Petra Kvitova expressed agreement with the Swiss, saying she'd rather see the Slams cancelled than hosted without fans.
Rusedski, however, is looking at things from the perspective of the lower-ranked players. According to him, they would be desperate for the tour to resume as soon as possible, even if there are no fans.
"Roger expressed his views on wanting fans there. But I would definitely be willing to come back now if I was still on the tour,” said Greg Rusedski.
The French Open organizers said this week that they would like to have fans attending their event, while abiding by social distancing rules.The same might not be possible for the US Open, given the fact that the US has the highest number of coronavirus cases across the whole world, but Greg Rusedski is still keen on the tournament to go on for the sake of tennis.
The 1997 Australian Open finalist also pointed out how football is already moving towards getting matches back on TV. Rusedski believes that tennis and golf are relatively easy to organize while maintaining distance between players, so they should follow suit.
“To get any live sport back on television, would be welcome for a number of reasons and as tennis and golf are the two easiest sports to play while observing social distancing guidelines, we need to look at how to do it," Rusedski said. "If you are going to try and experiment to get sports back, then tennis and golf are the two sports we should do it with."
Rusedski is not alone in his plea for the return of sports in the US. A few days ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that sports teams in the NY state can return to their facilities and resume training, as long as they are following the appropriate health protocols.
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