Novak Djokovic 'very glad' US Open going ahead

Novak Djokovic has revealed he is "very glad" the US Open is going ahead and has also expressed his excitement for Roland-Garros. With the coronavirus crisis having disrupted much of the tennis calendar, the Serb expressed his excitement about the prospect of two Slams remaining in the season's schedule. The tournament has confirmed they will push ahead, but there has been a lot of opposition from the biggest names due to organisers wanting to limit the amount of people players can bring with them due to coronavirus concerns. "I’m extremely happy and excited to see that all the tournaments, especially Grand Slams, are organising their events," he said on the Tennis Legends podcast. "I think that a lot of people were sceptical, especially for the US events considering what the US went through as a country during this pandemic. So a lot of people, including myself, were quite sceptical on whether it would happen or not. "We are very glad that it is happening, of course, and it is very important that we provide opportunities, we provide jobs, we provide opportunities for players to compete. Because at the end of the day, this is what we do! As tennis professionals we love the sport; we are passionate about it. We miss competing and travelling and, at the end of the day, we miss being on tour. So I think this is very positive news. "Obviously the regulations and measures as of today are quite strict, I must say. With quarantine and with some players, especially those from South America, not being able to travel out of their countries to come to the States. Hopefully that will change: the ATP and the USTA, everyone is working on it. The worst case scenario is that it remains like this, but there is time. "Hopefully every single player who is participating, chosen by ranking and who deserves their place at the US Open, will have an equal opportunity to travel there and compete as everybody else. This is very, very important because this is the foundation of the ATP and the foundation of international tennis. "We will all collectively try to make sure that this is the priority. Let’s hope that in the next two months some of those restrictions will loosen up a bit and that we will have a great, great tournament." Source: Eurosport

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