Roger Federer labelled ‘Fedoracle’ as coronavirus cancels Indian Wells
Roger Federer is injured and not expected back until June.
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Mardy Fish has joked Roger Federer is ‘Fedoracle’ in reaction to the news that the BNP Paribas Open would be postponed. Federer is currently on sidelines after undergoing knee surgery in February.
The Swiss star is targeting a return to action in June, in time for the grass-court season.
But the 38-year-old could be coming back to a sport badly hit by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
And Sunday it was announced the tournament, billed as the unofficial fifth Grand Slam’ would not take place after positive cases of the virus where found in the area.
Doctor David Agus, a professor at the University of Southern California said: “There is too great a risk, at this time, to the public health of the Riverside County area in holding a large gathering of this size.
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“It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighbouring areas for this tournament to proceed.
“We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak."
It means on an individual level, Federer’s recovery couldn't have come at a better time.
And Fish, who retired from the tour in 2015, tweeted: “Roger even gets his surgery schedule correct. #Fedoracle.”
From Indian Wells to the French Open, Federer has 2,680 points to defend in the ATP rankings.
But should further tournaments get postponed, it could allow him to stay high in the rankings.
Last week, Dominic Thiem moved above Federer and into third in the rankings for the first time in his career.
The next scheduled event is the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium later this month.
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However, the tournament is in doubt after the Florida Department of Health advised individuals who have travelled internationally to self-isolate for 14 days following their date of return to the United States.
A new positive case of COVID-19 was announced, the third in Broward County, which is where the tournament takes place.
That brings the number of positive cases of coronavirus in Florida to 19 while around 300 people are currently being monitored for the virus.