The Corona-Virus has emerged as one of the greatest challenges in the 21st century. More than a million people have already been affected along with almost 60 thousand dying. The world of sports has also been brought to a standstill. Tennis season 2020 has received a setback with the sunshine double and the European clay spring already abandoned. The biggest shock so far has been the cancellation of Wimbledon 2020 by the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
No Wimbledon 2020!
For the 1st time since the 2nd World War the Wimbledon Championships have been cancelled and there’d be no Wimbledon 2020. This is a sad story for the tennis fans but a grave reality that there is going to be no Wimbledon to be help in 2020. This impacts a lot of players in different ways. The Men’s defending champion and current World Number 1 Novak Djokovic will see this as a bit of a shock. He has won the tournament back to back in the last 2 years. Considering his great run at the start of 2020, Novak would have been a very heavy favorite this year also.
The Swiss maestro Roger Federer also expressed his disappointment after the news of cancellation of Wimbledon 2020. Federer took to twitter expressing how shocked he was after the news. For Federer this could have been one of the great chances to add one more Grand Slam title to his tally. He lost in 2019 to Djokovic even after having match points on his own serve.
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The same feeling was also expressed by 7 time Women’s champion Serena Williams. She also finished runner up both in 2018 and 2019. The former WTA World Number 1 who chases Margaret Court’s record of 24 Slams will also see this as a great chance lost in her record chase. Cancelled Wimbledon 2020 has stripped or delayed the fans from witnessing some history making in tennis.
French Open Rescheduled
After the total cancellation of the clay court swing 2020, the French Open has been rescheduled to September 2020. It starts on 20th September as per the modified dates. This means that if we get over with the Corona-virus problem, we could have 2 Grand Slams to be played in September this year. It could make the picture very complex for some players. So, its not only the cancellation of Wimbledon 2020, which could trouble tennis star this season.
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For Rafael Nadal this could be the most daunting challenge. The Spaniard won both these slams in 2019. He now faces the humongous task of defending two back to back major titles in less than a month’s space. It could also turn out as a window of opportunity for the great Spaniard. If the two events are held and Nadal wins either of those, the great Spaniard would then tie Roger Federer on the Grand Slam record list. Rafa will at any time be the overwhelming favorite at the French Open. So Corona has impacted both Wimbledon 2020 & French Open 2020, the wrong way I must say.
Olympics Pushed To 2021
The Olympic Games which were earlier scheduled in July 2020 have also been postponed. They will now be held in July 2021. This again will bring challenges to many tennis players. For Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who haven’t yet won the singles Gold medal in Olympics there would be obvious disappointment.
Novak looked red hot this season since the ATP cup, the Australian Open and Dubai Duty Free Championships. He won all 3 events and was 18-0 in terms of win loss, when the tennis tournaments were halted. The Serb would surely have been counting on his chances to chase the Gold medal in Tokyo this year. Wimbledon 2020 could provide balance to the contest between the Big 3.
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Roger also would be almost 40 when the 2021 Olympics start. There are chances that the Swiss great may even have retired from tennis till then. His aim of a singles Gold medal thus receives a big setback. The Corona-virus thus has given a jolt to the tennis calendar 2020 and also the players aiming to make new records. Since March this year there has also been a ranking freeze by the ATP and WTA. It may well be a long wait till we see our favorite players taking to the court once again.