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18 year old Italian tennis player Giulio Zeppieri says he thinks the tennis shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic will continue beyond the six week suspension currently imposed by the ATP tour but adds that he remains optimistic that the season will resume in late May or early June.
Speaking to Latinaoggi, Zeppieri says, "I don't mind standing not playing for now, far from it. We should have done it much earlier, maybe now the situation would be different. Better late than never, however, and therefore a little less judgment by all, could make this moment less difficult..
I am training at home. Little things, a bit of athletics and I hope to be back on the field from next week." Speaking about his assessment for the season, Zeppieri says, "This is a good question which, with the passing of the days, becomes increasingly difficult to answer.
I don't think the season is going to be skipped completely, but the idea I made is that after these six weeks of stop imposed by the ATP, there will be others. For God's sake, I am optimistic by nature, but the situation in Italy and in the rest of Europe is very delicate, if not dramatic, and to think that you can play tennis, now and in the short term, is somewhat utopian.
I think that late May, June, could be the right time to start. Obviously I hope I'm wrong." The 18 year old says he is in a good mood as nothing can be done except to wait out the situation. "Good, also because nothing can be done except to stay at home and respect the provisions of the Council of Ministers for our good.
The problem is serious and, as I said before, it was originally far too underestimated. Now you just have to pay close attention, because with people's lives you don't mess around. We caught the problem under control. People were asked to stay home and, instead, until the day before yesterday there were people who rolled in the meadows or on the beach, regardless of the danger of contagion, not to mention those who fled Milan, with images that have gone around the world of a station where everyone ran wildly.
Things that could have been avoided. I hope to return soon to play, but to do it, now, I have to get bored and I do it willingly."