Add Category
Posted
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were among several tennis stars who have confirmed they will not change plans or preparations for Wimbledon next month after the terror attack in London, which left seven people dead and 48 injured.
A van rammed into pedestrians on London Bridge on Sunday morning (AEST) and three attackers with knifes charged out and stabbed others nearby.
All three were shot dead by police in the Borough Market area near London Bridge within eight minutes of receiving the first emergency call.
Djokovic, a three-time winner at Wimbledon, says he is mindful of security concerns but he will not let the attacks change his mind about playing the tournament, which begins on July 3.
"I didn't get to that thought of 'Oh, should I go? Should I not go to London with myself, my family?'," said Djokovic, who is in Paris contesting the French Open.
"Because it can happen anywhere. If it happens in London, happens in Paris, Nice, it can really happen anywhere.
"If we live in fear that's not life... if it's a destiny for you to be somewhere in some place in a wrong time, it can happen to all of us, God forbid."
Djokovic says he will not alter his preparation for Wimbledon aside from ensuring the security of his family.
"Everything will progress the same in terms of my plans for Wimbledon and I will try to go there with my family," he said.
"I think it's always about being conscious of what time of the day or night you go out, where you go, but it's very unpredictable."
Rafael Nadal, who has won two Wimbledon titles, says security fears are common for professional sportspeople but he has no intention of skipping the third major of the season.
"With these kinds of things, you cannot feel 100 per cent safe," he said.
"It's tough to accept these kinds of things, but it's happening very often today and [it] is difficult to change that for the moment."
World number one Andy Murray's brother Jamie says he is confident Wimbledon organisers are across all security matters.
"I'm sure Wimbledon's on top of that stuff," he said.
"That seems to be the world that we have to live in these days, which is not much fun for anyone. But I guess you just have to trust in the authorities and the people that are in charge that they know what they're doing."
Reuters/AAP
Topics: tennis, disasters-and-accidents, emergency-incidents, terrorism, unrest-conflict-and-war, sport, england, united-kingdom, france