Osaka, Djokovic, Nadal keen to be at Olympics but virus a big concern
Japanese sensation Naomi Osaka, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal said on Sunday they remain keen to compete in the delayed Tokyo Olympics, and would be guided by what the health experts tell them.
Organisers are still adamant the Olympics can be held safely even if the coronavirus is not under control by the time the flame is lit on 23 July.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Osaka admitted being worried by a recent poll that found 80 per cent of the Japanese public were opposed to Tokyo hosting the event this year because of the pandemic.
Large parts of Japan are currently under a state of emergency to tackle a spike in coronavirus cases, with borders closed to almost all foreigners.
“My concern would be the general safety of everyone else because you’re opening the country,” Osaka said. “Everyone is flying in from different places. I would just want the public to feel safe.”
The 23-year-old has been the poster girl of the 2020 Olympics and still hopes to represent Japan at her home Games.
“I will stay in my room for two weeks to play the Olympics,” said Osaka, who lives in Florida.
“I missed out on the last one. Playing in Tokyo would be very special to me.”
World No 2 Rafael Nadal echoed Osaka’s sentiments and hoped to play, but said health experts should have the final say.
“What we have to do is just follow the instructions of what the people who really have the right knowledge of all this stuff give to us,” he told reporters on Sunday.
The Spaniard said mandatory quarantine ahead of the Olympics would be hard to squeeze into the congested tour schedule.
“Combining our tour with another 15 days of quarantine to play Olympics,” he said. “It looks difficult to fix it in our calendar.”
World No 1 Djokovic has played in three Olympics, winning a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, calling it“the greatest honour” to represent Serbia at “the oldest and most traditional event in the history of sport”.