Sydney (AFP)
After withdrawing from the US Open, Australian Nick Kyrgios said Thursday that there was "very little chance" of him traveling to Europe to participate in Roland Garros, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"If I had to play, I would probably prefer to go to Europe (rather than the United States, editor's note) at this time of the year, with all that is going on", first indicated the 40th in the world to the chain Australian Television Channel Nine.
But "there is very little chance that I will play in Europe," he said. "To be honest, they're almost zero."
"I'm going to use this time to stay home, train, be with my family, with my friends, and just act responsibly and wait for better circumstances to play," he added.
Last Saturday, the Australian announced that he would not go to New York to play the US Open (August 31-September 13) due to health risks in the United States.
Tuesday, it was the Spanish defending champion Rafael Nadal who did the same, for the same reasons, also pointing to the "madness" of the new ATP calendar, which provides back to back the US Open and Roland-Garros (27 September-October 11), each preceded by a Masters 1000, that of Cincinnati relocated to New York and that of Rome.
In women, the Australian world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty will not be traveling to New York either, because of the "significant risks" associated with the pandemic.
Kyrgios also expressed doubts about the holding of the first 2021 Grand Slam tournament, at his home in Australia: "It's a sad time for Melbourne, I'm not sure the Australian Open can take place", next January, as planned.
In recent weeks, the Australian has strongly criticized Novak Djokovic and the players who took part in the Adria Tour, an exhibition tournament across the Balkans organized by the Serbian world No.1, with public and without distancing, in which several players including Djokovic were infected with Covid-19.
© 2020 AFP