Roger Federer, in contrast to his long-time companions Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, has decided against a show match in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah.
“There was an official request from the organizer,” Federer said after his semi-final defeat against Djokovic at the ATP Masters in Paris: “But I didn’t want to play there, so it was a quick decision.”
The 37-year-old Swiss did not comment on the exact reasons for his refusal: “I simply prefer to do other things during the time, for example to train.
Djokovic, number one in the world rankings from Monday, and Nadal have confirmed their participation in the show fight. The match for the “King Salman Tennis Cup” will take place on 22 December.
Following the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the commitment of the two top stars to play a highly remunerated tennis match in Saudi Arabia is highly controversial.
Nadal explained in Paris that he had already received and accepted the invitation to the show fight a year ago. Currently, the new situation is being evaluated by his advisors: “Then we will look for solutions together.”
Djokovic, on the other hand, dropped a heavily criticised tweet – albeit at the beginning of October: “I’m looking forward to visiting this beautiful country and playing there. Thank you for inviting me.”