Ajinkya Rahane is feeling the “void” of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the 2020 US Open. Both Federer and Nadal aren’t playing 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 this year, had announced he will not play again until next year. “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?” Rahane tweeted.

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 impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, especially New York, which has been one of the worst-affected states.

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.

Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 women’s singles winner, has also pulled out.

For Rahane, the next assignment will be the 13^th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he will play for Delhi Capitals.

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 have Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan as opening batsmen and recently replaced the injured Jason Roy with Australia’s Daniel Sams. 

The IPL gets underway from September 19 in the UAE.