The veteran Indian cricketer, Ajinkya Rahane is feeling the “void” of the legends, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the 2020 US Open. Both Federer and Nadal haven’t been taking part in the third Grand Slam of the year. The 2019 men’s singles champion Nadal pulled out over coronavirus fears and tennis’ “barbaric” new calendar while Federer, who underwent two knee surgeries earlier this year, had announced he will not play again until next year.
Tweeting about the same, Rahane said, “Definitely feeling the void of @rogerfederer, @RafaelNadal or an audience not being a part of the #USOpen . But that doesn’t take away from the excitement. Are you guys excited? Who are you rooting for this season?”
Definitely feeling the void of @rogerfederer , @RafaelNadal or an audience not being a part of the #USOpen . But that doesn’t take away from the excitement. Are you guys excited? Who are you rooting for this season?
— Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) August 31, 2020
The US Open is being played behind closed doors due to the increased cases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, especially New York, which has emerged as the worst-affected state. However, former champion Novak Djokovic is playing and registered a straight-sets victory over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina at an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
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Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 women’s singles winner, has also pulled out. Rahane’s next assignment will be the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he will play for Delhi Capitals (DC). He came to DC during the transfer window from Rajasthan Royals (RR).
A top-order batsman for his previous IPL teams, Rahane has expressed willingness to play the finisher’s role in a top-heavy Delhi line-up.
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Delhi already has some fiery openers like Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and they recently replaced the injured Jason Roy with Australia’s Daniel Sams. The IPL gets underway from September 19 to the UAE. The final of the tournament will be played on November 10.
