20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer says he is wary about the prospect of full crowds returning to tennis events with Wimbledon set to do so from Tuesday onwards.
The All England Club has been given the green light from government officials to operate at 100% capacity from the quarter-final stage onwards. Making it the first outdoor sporting event in the country to do so since post-lockdown. Wimbledon’s Centre Court has a capacity of 14,979 and Court One can hold up to 12,345 people. It comes a day after the British government announced that the majority of their restrictions related to the pandemic will be lifted on July 19th.
Whilst many are celebrating the lifting of restrictions as a return towards normality, Federer believes that the pandemic is far from over and fears there is ‘more to come.’ Making reference to the upcoming winter where virus rates are usually substantially higher.
“I’m still not a hundred percent convinced we are on the other side. I still think there is more to come,” he said following his fourth round win over Lorenzo Sonego.
“Last year in the summer we also felt the same way, super positive, having a few cases here and there. It looked very promising, then everything changed again later on in the year, especially indoors for us (tennis player) in Europe it gets tricky.”
Over the past year various tournaments have had to be held behind closed doors, including the US Open and part of the Australian Open. Meanwhile, other events have had their capacity restricted by local officials.
Federer, who is playing in his fifth tournament since returning from injury, admits that if he had won a major title without a crowd it would have made it ‘70% to 80%’ less special for him. Paying tribute to the importance of fans at tennis tournaments.
“I tried to think back like what would it have meant for me to win Wimbledon with no crowds in a final. Last year I was thinking that as I was watching guys play with very little crowd or no crowd. I felt like it probably would have taken 70% or 80% of everything away from me,” he said.
“Sure, I would have been Wimbledon champion, but it never would have felt the same. That’s why we are so happy that we have crowds back.”
“I hope it stays this way. I hope that this tournament or the Euro (football championship) or whatever events are going to keep on happening in the future also are not going to create more burden on more families and more people,” he added.
At Wimbledon players are staying in a bubble where they have to follow certain procedures which include undergoing regular testing and staying at a designated hotel. Even those who live in the city are not allowed to stay in their homes during the tournament if they wish to play.
The rules have been implemented to limit the threat of a COVID-19 outbreak among players. Although two have been withdrawn from the event after being declared a close contact with somebody who has tested positive, including Johanna Konta.
“I feel safe as it’s outdoors, a big space. But it’s also very new for me because I haven’t played much on the tour yet, so I’m still very, very careful, especially with close contact.” Federer commented.
“I’m very much aware we’re still very much in the bubble, but we’re all hoping we can move on soon.”
Federer will play either Daniil Medvedev or Herbert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
