Melbourne (AFP)

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal together donated 250,000 Australian dollars, or about 150,000 euros, during exhibition matches Wednesday in Melbourne to raise funds for the victims of the fires in Australia.

The tennis world has already donated 2.8 million Australian dollars (approx. 1.7 million euros).

Alongside the tennis superstars, 39 Grand Slam titles between them, many other stars of the yellow ball were present: Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova, Dominic Thiem, Coco Gauff, Nick Kyrgios , Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexander Zverev.

They performed in a schoolboy atmosphere a few double games, in a court with a roof closed under a Melbourne sky polluted by the smoke of the fires.

Taken to task this week on social networks by environmentalists for his relationship with his sponsor, Credit Suisse, who, according to them, lent billions of dollars to the fossil fuel industry, Roger Federer was committed to " make a donation".

Activists, who last week called on the Swiss star to "wake up" (#RogerWakeUpNow), launched a new watchword on Monday: "#RogerForClimate", accompanied by a video in which young people question the player.

The fires, which killed 28 people according to the official balance sheet, destroyed more than 2,000 houses and burned an area of ​​100,000 square kilometers - larger than the area of ​​South Korea - disrupted the qualifications of the Open Wednesday from Australia, which have been delayed.

Stormy weather then set in late afternoon with heavy rains that forced the players to interrupt their matches.

These weather conditions should help to remove this cloud of pollution from Melbourne and make way for clearer skies on Thursday.

Tuesday, some players had been coughing fits. Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic had to give up. And those who were forced to continue playing under these conditions protested.

The organizers have so far dismissed a postponement of the first Grand Slam of the year, the main round of which opens on Monday. Melbourne has enough indoor facilities to play the tournament no matter what.

© 2020 AFP