The uncle of Rafael Nadal says that the ATP's schedule is going to be extremely tough on the older players. Speaking in an interview with ESPN Deportes, Toni Nadal hinted that his nephew Rafael might have some difficult choices to make when it comes to his playing schedule for the remainder of 2020.
With the US Open taking place in New York just two weeks before the start of Roland Garros, and tournaments packed into the schedule from mid-August til October, the legendary coach and uncle of Nadal says that his nephew is hesitant.
"I spoke to Rafael and he was hesitating,” Nadal said. “He told me what they had done with the calendar and it seems a little ugly to me, what the ATP have done. It seems to me an unforgiving calendar for older people: for Djokovic, for Rafael, for Federer … to play every week. A young tennis player can, but if you think about Djokovic, Rafael and Federer have helped tennis for many years."
Nadal’s uncle also gave his take on the Adria Tour, which has seen World No.1 Novak Djokovic and several other top players test positive for Covid-19 after two weekends of play in Belgrade, Serbia and Zadar, Croatia.
"It was a shame,” he said. “It was a good initiative to do a little movement in tennis that I think was going well but in the end there has been a coronavirus problem that has not been good for tennis or for Djokovic and the players.”
Nadal admits that the scenario is different than it would be in other countries, given the fact that Serbia and Croatia have been relatively spared by the virus. “In Serbia the measures are not as strict as in other countries and they have acted in this way,” he said. “It is a mistake that anyone can make, Djokovic has already apologized for the mistake. It is a step backwards in the process of normalizing the circuit. "
