Playing tennis in the snow while social distancing is not an easy task. But Roger Federer made it look like a piece of cake in a video he posted on social media Monday.

Making sure I still remember how to hit trick shots #TennisAtHome pic.twitter.com/DKDKQTaluY

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) March 30, 2020

Federer hit a series of tweeners and behind-the-back shots with perfect precision against a wall. The video eclipsed one million views on Twitter about two hours after it was posted.

Just last week, the 103-time tour-level champion and his wife, Mirka Federer, revealed that they donated one million Swiss Francs (USD $1.02 million) to vulnerable families in Switzerland to contribute towards the global fight against coronavirus.

Federer, currently No. 4 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, last competed in the semi-finals of the Australian Open before undergoing right knee surgery in February. If his recent video shows anything, it’s that the 38-year-old has not lost his touch.

? https://t.co/kkAB0sreVA

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) March 30, 2020

On Ice that would be nice ? https://t.co/o9n3dIazZO

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) March 30, 2020

?? https://t.co/Xa3ql3a6Jf

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) March 30, 2020

This is nothing. @NickKyrgios warm up ? https://t.co/EQ6eoiVnXi

— Mardy Fish (@MardyFish) March 30, 2020

Dominic Thiem said last week that he’d love to quarantine with good friend and fellow Austrian Dennis Novak. In an Instagram Live on Sunday, 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev revealed that he actually is spending this time with another player: Marcelo Melo.

On paper, Melo and Zverev have little in common. The 36-year-old Brazilian turned professional the year after Zverev was born. The 22-year-old is a German singles star, while Melo has long focussed on doubles, in which he has reached the top of the FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings.

But despite Melo being 14 years older than Zverev, they are great friends, joined at the hip whenever they’re competing at the same tournament. Now they are quarantining in Florida due to coronavirus concerns. Zverev told the story — albeit tongue in cheek — of how they became friends.

“It was 2015 Rotterdam. He was in the locker room by himself. He’s always in the locker room by himself. He never had that many friends. I was this new guy, I was 18. Everybody kept warning me [about] him. I was like, ‘Nah, he looks like he’s okay,’” Zverev recalled. “I was like, ‘Hey buddy, you want to have lunch?’ He was so happy, because finally somebody wanted to become friends with him, and I took him on. Every stranded puppy needs a home, so I take care of him.”

As Zverev got a kick out of the story he was telling, Melo pulled out a picture of a young Zverev, perhaps from that lunch.

“Okay everybody saw the picture, put it away!” Zverev quickly said.

The pair took some questions from fans, including one asking whether Zverev or Melo’s doubles partner, Lukasz Kubot, hits more double faults.

“Oof, this is a very difficult question,” Zverev said. “Lately me, nobody makes more than me.”

“Don’t say that, you’re not that bad,” Melo said as they both cracked a laugh.

Zverev also spoke about how Roger Federer was his idol, and Dwyane Wade was his favourite basketball player. But perhaps his most important thoughts came on getting through this current pandemic.

“It’s a very weird and difficult situation but I hope everybody is staying safe, I hope everybody is enjoying themselves at home,” Zverev said. “The more we follow rules now, the quicker we can go back to doing the things we love doing: watching live sports, doing fun activities and stuff like that. The more we follow the rules, the quicker the whole situation will solve itself and that’s why we don’t do anything, we don’t go out, we do nothing. We basically work out and stay at home and that’s it.”

Editor’s Note: ATPTour.com is resurfacing features to bring fans closer to their favourite players during the current suspension in tournament play. This story was originally published on 30 March 2018.

Pete Sampras held a slender lead in the FedEx ATP Rankings, such that as the world’s best players hit U.S. soil in March 1998, more than 10 players with a decent run in the California and Florida sunshine, could, theoretically, have risen to No. 1. Marcelo Rios, the exquisitely talented Chilean, whose popularity in his homeland was second only to footballer Marcelo Salas, was one such player at No. 7 on the professional tennis ladder. Rios, on 2,777 points, sat 939 points behind World No. 1 Pete Sampras, who, for much of the past five years, had been the sport’s leader.

In the space of 20 extraordinary days, as many years ago, the pony-tailed Rios harnessed not only his natural talent, but also a so-far untapped mental resolve to play some of the best tennis of his career and capture the Indian Wells-Miami title double. A feat achieved, at that point, by only a trio of Americans: Jim Courier (1991), Michael Chang (1992) and Sampras (1994). Andre Agassi (2001), Roger Federer (2005-06, ’17) and Novak Djokovic (2011, 2014-16) have since completed the ‘Sunshine Double’.

In doing so, Rios, who had been junior World No. 1 as a 17-year-old, rose to the summit of the professional game on 30 March 1998. “One of my goals was to be No. 1 in the juniors,” Rios told ATPTour.com. “I think it was a big step going from junior to professional, but in my first year I already broke into the Top 100 and aged 22 I became No. 1. Everything was really fast.” At 5’9”, Rios was the first Latin American and also the shortest of the 14 players (in 1998) to have led men’s professional tennis since 1973.

“Sampras had been No. 1 for a long time, most of the past five years, so it was a big achievement to win two ‘Super 9’ [now ATP Masters 1000s] in a row beating great players. Beating Agassi in Miami, his own country, was obviously one of my the best matches that I always will remember.”

Speaking to ATPTour.com, former World No. 1 Stefan Edberg admitted, “I actually practised with him quite a few times. I can remember he surprised me a lot in the way he was striking the ball. He was very quick and very talented. He had a great streak, when he played some fantastic tennis, and was very gifted to watch.”

Another former World No. 1, Carlos Moya, recalled to ATPTour.com, “He was a different player, you could see that from the first moment you saw him on court. He was probably the most talented player I ever saw. You could enjoy watching him a lot. He was great for tennis, had a different style of playing and was very talented.”

Fleet of foot, striking first and imposing his baseline game, the sport’s most naturally gifted competitor since John McEnroe first clinched the 1998 BNP Paribas Open title on 15 March after beating Greg Rusedski, who’d hit a record 149 miles per hour serve in the semi-finals, 6-3, 6-7(15), 7-6(4), 6-4 in two hours and 46 minutes. Rios’ variance of topspin, slice and great disguise proved to be too accomplished for Rusedski to outhustle. Opponents often attempted to rile the Chilean by getting him off balance, with a variety of angles and speeds. Rios had also beaten Petr Korda, the player he’d lost to in January’s Australian Open final, in the Indian Wells quarter-finals.

In losing just one set all week — the second set of the final, which, historically, was the longest tie-break of 1998 — 22-year-old Rios moved up four places to No. 3 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on 3,235 points. Having finished 1997 at No. 10, Rios now sat behind Korda (3,432) and Sampras (3,761). Incredibly, Sampras’ third-round loss to Thomas Muster in Indian Wells meant that should the American lose before the Miami quarter-finals, then Korda, Rios, Patrick Rafter or Rusedski, up to No. 5, would rise to the top spot.

Days later at Crandon Park in Miami, where humidity so often plays its part in on-court performance, left-handed Rios eased his way past Hendrik Dreekmann in the first round, just as he did at Indian Wells, then Tommy Haas, Goran Ivanisevic, Thomas Enqvist and Tim Henman by cutting down his error count and going for placement over power. Knowing Sampras had lost to South African Wayne Ferreira 0-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 in the Miami third round, third seed Rios knew what was on the line. “The way he hit the ball and the way he saw the angles of the court, was like nobody else could do,” Enqvist told ATPTour.com.

In the sun-kissed 29 March final, the third seed competed nerve-free against three-time former champion Agassi, who had risen from No. 141 to No. 22 in just eight events and led the Tour with a 24-3 start on the season. Rios’ path to glory, including his 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Agassi in one hour and 57 minutes, which knocked off Sampras at No. 1 after 102 consecutive weeks, triggered rapturous celebrations on the streets of Chile, a nation that had witnessed every match live on television.

“Being the best player in the world for Chile is something that isn’t normal,” said Rios, at the time. “I feel really proud.” To celebrate, his then manager Jeff Schwartz and coach Larry Stefanki tossed Rios into a swimming pool and, days later in Santiago, there was a reception leading Rios to Chile’s President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994-2000) on La Moneda Palace. “We don’t have a lot of sportsmen in Chile, so being No. 1 in tennis was pretty big,” Rios told ATPTour.com, 22 years on. “It was not a big sport at that time.”

Any hope Rios had of holding onto No. 1 was soon scuppered by an elbow injury, which kept Rios off the circuit for four weeks. He relinquished the top spot to Sampras on 26 April 1998. Although he returned to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in May and spent a further two weeks at the summit from 10 August, injuries soon mounted. In April 2004, six years after winning the 1998 Indian Wells and Miami titles to become No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Rios played his last professional match. A back problem had curtailed his career aged just 28.

#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 16, broke through on the ATP Tour in February, beating 2017 Monte-Carlo finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Rio de Janeiro 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(2) to become the youngest player to win an ATP 500 match in series history (since 2009) and the youngest Spaniard to win an ATP Tour match since Rafael Nadal at 2002 Mallorca.

Alcaraz is coached by former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who spoke to ATPTour.com about what it’s like to work with a rising star, which current stars Alcaraz plays like, and more.

Since you didn’t start competing in ATP events until your later teens, how interesting is it to see how well Carlos has competed at only 16?
The thing is, he always was competing against guys who were older. He’s used to playing against people older than him. So now, even the match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Rio, the guy was 32 and he’s 16, and obviously the most important thing for him is that he improved physically very much. That’s why he can stay in the match for three and a half hours and he can play against guys who are older than him.

How did you get to know Carlos? Did he come to your academy or did you see him at a tournament?
I saw him here at the JC Ferrero-Equelite Sports Academy playing a tournament. We have a lot of tournaments here at the academy. I saw him for the first time playing a tournament and it helps that he lives very close to the academy in Murcia, just an hour from here. So it was very easy seeing him play some matches.

I remember him playing a Futures when he was 14 and he got his first [FedEx] ATP Ranking point. I went to see some matches and I heard about this little boy who was playing at such a good level at the age of 14, so I drove over there to watch him. His agent is the same as Pablo Carreno Busta’s, and Carreno is here practising at the academy, so it helps to have a good relationship with him at the end to get him into this team.

For those who haven’t seen Carlos play, how would you describe his game style and is there a player who he plays similarly to?
He likes to be very aggressive all the time. He likes to play close to the baseline. He’s not the typical player who only plays on clay courts. He likes to play on hard courts and he loves to play on grass. He played last year for the first time on grass and he loved it. He loves to finish points at the net.

At the beginning, when I first met him, I almost was sure that his best level was on clay, but I think now he’s improving so much on hard court and I think he can even give a little bit more level on hard court, so that’s very good. He’s playing very aggressive from the baseline and he needs to improve a little bit his serve. But for 16, he’s serving well.

If I have to say someone that I can compare him to, it’s the game of Novak Djokovic or maybe Roger Federer. They like to be aggressive from the baseline and they can go to the net to finish the point.

How do you balance when you or someone else tells him of such a comparison, while not allowing it to get to his head?
Usually he hears people who say he is going to be the next Rafael Nadal… of course, it’s going to be difficult for him to [keep things] normal and stay calm and not tell me, ‘Why are they saying this to me?’

But he’s a little bit used to it, because most of the people here in Spain, they come to him many times and tell him he’s going to be the next Rafa Nadal. Finally, I think he’s used to it and he put it away and he goes his own way to always work very hard and to try to make his own career.

Of course, the comparison is going to be there because for people here in Spain, it’s been a long time that we haven’t had anyone at the age of 16 or 17 [playing] this kind of level. But the team that is around him, we have to try to [keep a circle] around him to help him try to put this pressure away, to make him calm, to keep things normal, so he can go his own way.

Andy Roddick has said something he looks for in younger players is easy power. Do you think Carlos has that?
In his performance on the court, he has very fast hands. He plays from the backhand and the forehand very strong all the time. He’s very quickly going with the ball on the court, and that’s why he can play at a very high rhythm against these guys.

In Rio we were practising with Lajovic, Carballes [Baena], even Thiem, and he’s one of the guys who can play at the same rhythm as the player on the other side of the court any time. This helps a lot for him to play against them.

How rare is that attribute for someone Carlos’ age?
It’s very rare. Obviously you cannot find that many people who are 16 and can play that kind of level that easy going. A year and a half before he was playing juniors and he didn’t see many boys that had the game that Carlos has. That’s why maybe Carlos is at this level now.

Does Carlos look at guys like Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner for motivation given how much success they’ve had at a young age?
Of course he thinks a little bit about it. Obviously the motivation that he has is to play these kinds of tournaments and these kinds of matches. It’s very important to him to be very motivated and one of the big reasons to increase his level very much is the team that he has around him. He has an unbelievable team around him that helps him to stay motivated every day and try to work a little bit different than people at his age, to help him to be a professional on the court. I think that’s very important.

What has he improved the most since you first met him?
Mentally. I think he has taken a big step up, because when I first met him, he was 14. Now he’s almost 17, so I think mentally he grew up a little bit. Physically, of course, he’s a little bit stronger than when I met him for the first time. But I think his mental game is what he improved the most. 

Knowing that you still play tennis a lot, do you ever jump on court with Carlos as sort of a test?
I’ve hit with him many times and I play some matches against him, to have some fun together. I stay every day on the court and I can see the big difference in how much he’s improved since last year. But obviously we have fun when we play some matches.

Do you get nervous watching Carlos compete and if so how nervous?
Of course I’m nervous, because when you are working with someone every day and you are after some goals that you put on the table at the beginning of the year you want him to reach those goals. Obviously when he’s in the match I’m a little bit nervous. As a player, I tried to be calm, but of course inside of me I have some big nerves [watching him].

Andre Agassi had a big decision to make ahead of the 1994 Miami final. 

When he walked into the locker room that day, his opponent, Pete Sampras, was suffering on the floor due to stomach illness. It seemed clear Sampras would not be prepared to take the court on time, which would give Agassi the title, the FedEx ATP Ranking points that came with lifting the trophy, and the champion’s prize money. It wasn’t his fault Sampras was ill.

“I woke up at 7 feeling nauseated, heaving and gagging. I didn’t think I’d be able to go out and play,” Sampras said, according to the New York Times. “Had IV’s in me all the way from 10:45 to 12:20.”

Agassi would not let down the thousands of fans in the stands, nor would he force Sampras into a walkover. He allowed Sampras the time he needed, which amounted to about an hour.

Sampras was the favourite heading into the match — when not considering his illness — competing as the top seed and defending champion. The World No. 1 had already won titles at Sydney, the Australian Open and Indian Wells in 1994, bringing plenty of momentum into Miami.

Agassi was ranked World No. 31, his lowest standing since November 1987. The American underwent right wrist surgery the previous December, which prevented him from playing the 1994 Australian Open.

But Agassi found his form in Miami, beating Boris Becker, Cedric Pioline, Stefan Edberg and Pat Rafter. It was his first tournament with new coach Brad Gilbert. According to Agassi’s book, Open, the pair walked into the locker room before the final and found Sampras on the floor.

“The doctor gives Pete an IV, then props him on his feet. Pete wobbles, a newborn colt. He’ll never make it… Should be a short night, I tell Brad,” Agassi wrote. “But Pete does it again. He sends his evil twin onto the court. This is not the Pete who was curled in a ball on the locker-room floor. This is not the Pete who was getting an IV and wobbling in circles. This Pete is in the prime of life, serving at warp speed, barely breaking a sweat. He’s playing his best tennis, unbeatable, and he jumps out to a 5-1 lead.

“Now I’m angry. I feel as if I found a wounded bird, brought it home, and nursed it back to health, only to have it try to peck my eyes out. I fight back and win the set. Surely I’ve withstood the only attack Pete can mount. He can’t possibly have anything left. But in the second set he’s even better. And in the third he’s a freak.”

Sampras, who crushed 14 aces, including one down the T on match point, was simply too good for Agassi. He earned 17 break points in the match, converting five as he went on to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 15 minutes.

“I feel a lot better now,” Sampras said. “As the match wore on, the adrenaline started kicking in and I started to think I could win when the chips are down. That sort of showed me I’ve got guts.”

Agassi was a good sport about the situation, even if he was disappointed about losing the championship.

“It’s not about winning the tournament, it’s about taking pride in what you do,” Agassi said, according to the New York Times. “If I couldn’t beat Pete healthy, I didn’t deserve to win the tournament, and whether sick or well, he played a great match.”

Agassi later that year won his first US Open title, and he’d climb to a career-high World No. 2, before ascending to No. 1 in 1995.

Tournament Founder Butch Bucholz told ATPTour.com, “Delaying the final showed the great character of Andre Agassi. He didn’t want to win the tournament that way, by walkover. Pete’s doctor said if we get some IVs into him, he’ll be okay in a few hours.

“We were just happy to have a match. Pete told us he didn’t think he’d be able to play on Sunday morning. We said, ‘If we got a doctor, and if the doctor can get you to a point where you can play, would you?’ Andre then agreed to delay the match. Andre beat him the next year in a third set tie-break, which was a great match.”

It was the first and only time Sampras would win the ‘Sunshine Double’ — lifting the trophy in Indian Wells and Miami in the same year — and he’d go on to win a personal-best 10 tour-level titles that year. Sampras finished atop the 1994 year-end FedEx ATP Rankings, marking the second of six consecutive World No. 1 finishes.

“I would have done the same thing for him if he’d been in the same boat,” Sampras said of Agassi’s gesture.

Your favourite players are all finding ways to stay busy and remain in shape while doing their part to flatten the curve. From Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s new family band to Novak Djokovic’s homemade costume, find out how the biggest names in tennis are keeping active.

Tsonga didn’t need to look far when he needed someone to accompany him on drums.

Please make noise for the new duo of the year ???#TsongaTeam #Family #StayHome #RESTEZCHEZVOUS #TennisAtHome ?? @atptour pic.twitter.com/Uv7g6VrZqr

— Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (@tsonga7) March 27, 2020

Djokovic is getting creative during his time at home

My version of Captain Hook ???‍☠️ #dadlife #stayhome

Moja verzija Kapetana Kuke ??⚓ pic.twitter.com/AbtGiRqy52

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) March 24, 2020

Rafael Nadal launched the #NuestraMejorVictoria (Our Best Victory) campaign with six-time NBA All-Star champion Pau Gasol in order to raise funds in the fight against COVID-19.

Ha llegado la hora de que el deporte español consigamos #nuestramejorvictoria.

Colabora en el proyecto #CruzRojaResponde con tu aportación a ES44 0049 0001 5321 1002 2225. @paugasol y yo la tenemos en camino. ¿Te unes?

? https://t.co/FkUPrvfhpr#vamos ??? ? ? pic.twitter.com/pWYIfPfj0U

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) March 26, 2020

Stefanos Tsitsipas helped launch a free workout program for his fans to stay in shape while staying at home.

Me and Chris decided to create a quarantine fitness program for all of you to stay fit. Hope you find this helpful.

Download for free ??https://t.co/JISiKLyN7Y

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) March 27, 2020

All of Stan Wawrinka’s alter egos are finding ways to keep up their workout routines.

My workout partners and I shared a lot in common today ??‍♂️?????‍♂️??‍♂️☀️ #stayfitstan #workout #enjoy #fun #staysafe pic.twitter.com/8AIHwXnh5O

— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) March 27, 2020

Yoshihito Nishioka is passing the time with a traditional Japanese toy known as a kendama.

朝早く起きてけん玉と駒で遊ぶ24歳。
お家で遊べていいと思う^_^
この技できる人どれくらいいるかなー(=´∀｀)人(´∀｀=)#けん玉　#kendama #japanesetraditionaltoy #懐かしの遊び　#テニスプレイヤー pic.twitter.com/z3JWG3jjRJ

— YOSHIHITO NISHIOKA (@yoshihitotennis) March 24, 2020

Diego Schwartzman is staying on top of his off-court training.

The hard work never stops ???

?: @dieschwartzman (IG) #tennisathome pic.twitter.com/GGXQjUbkxN

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 27, 2020

Gael Monfils took time to celebrate Wawrinka’s 35th birthday.

“We’re like wine, we’re getting better with time.” ? ?@Gael_Monfils has a message for you, @stanwawrinka ? #tennisathome pic.twitter.com/1ziOBJVj1G

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 28, 2020

Jamie Murray gave his fans a sample workout that can be done at home and without equipment.

Friday Workout. Bodyweight Only. No Equipment Required.

10 x Knee Up Downs
30 secs High Knees or Fast Feet
10 x Side Lunge
30 secs High Knees or Fast Feet
10 x Rainbows
30 secs High Knees or Fast Feet
90 secs Rest
Repeat#stayathome #stayactive pic.twitter.com/erpZTdyYWh

— Jamie Murray (@jamie_murray) March 27, 2020

Cristian Garin has proven himself a clay-court stalwart over the past two seasons, winning all four of his ATP Tour titles on the surface. The former junior Grand Slam titlist has quickly established himself among the world’s best, and he is currently the No. 2 South American, trailing only Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, who is World No. 13

ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about Garin.

1) Garin is at his career-high FedEx ATP Ranking
Garin enjoyed a breakthrough 2019 season, winning his first two ATP Tour titles in Houston and Munich. The Chilean has not let that momentum slip in 2020, triumphing in Cordoba before lifting his biggest trophy yet in Rio de Janeiro.

The 23-year-old is now at a career-high World No. 18. It has been a rapid rise for Garin, who first cracked the world’s Top 100 on 29 October 2018. He made his first ATP Tour final last March in Sao Paulo, losing in straight sets against Guido Pella. It was a disappointing defeat, as Garin saw it as his big chance to earn a crown.

“I’m not sure what to think because I didn’t expect to win an ATP Tour title after Sao Paulo,” Garin said after his Houston victory last year. “Now that I’ve won, I want to just go back home for a few days and work again.”

2) He spent time living in Spain
When Garin was 18, he moved to Spain, changing coaches and residences in the hopes of competing in more tournaments. It was the first time he lived anywhere but in Santiago, Chile.

But in 2018, he moved to Argentina for several months to work with coach Andres Schneiter, before ultimately returning to Santiago. However, his partnership with Schneiter has proven fruitful.

“It was tough because I made many changes, maybe some bad changes. I lost many times and had some problems with ex-coaches. I moved to Spain and maybe it wasn’t a good decision for me,” Garin said last year. “But in the past year, I’m making good things happen and working hard every day, so I’m seeing the results now.”

3) Garin made history as a teen
In his first tournament of 2013, in Vina del Mar, Garin defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 to become the fifth player 16 or younger (since 2000) to win an ATP Tour match.

“It was big pressure,” Garin said.

Just months later, he won the 2013 Roland Garros Boys’ Singles title. It took him until last February in Buenos Aires to win his next ATP Tour main draw match.

4) Garin is clutch under pressure
Garin may be World No. 18, but he ranks higher in Infosys’ ATP Under Pressure Rating. He is seventh in the category over the past 52 weeks, only trailing Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Nick Kyrgios.

The rating accounts for performance in tie-breaks, deciding sets and break points (both won and converted).

In the past year, Garin has won 55.2 per cent of his tie-breaks, 73.7 per cent of his deciding sets, converted 41.2 per cent of his break points and saved 62.3 per cent of the break points he faced

5) UNO, Clash Royale and Business
Garin and Schneiter keep things lighthearted off the court, playing games with one another when possible. They include the card game UNO, as well as competing in the app Clash Royale.

“We play a lot… it’s too good,” Schneiter told ATPTour.com.

If Garin wasn’t a professional tennis player, the Chilean says he would be a businessman. He also enjoys watching NBA basketball, and his favourite foods are sushi and pizza.

Former World No. 3 Milos Raonic has increasingly become interested in art, and his great uncle was an artist from Montenegro. He has enjoyed visiting art galleries or going to art shows that have coincided with the ATP Tour’s schedule.

But during the coronavirus pandemic, the Canadian has been staying inside. ATPTour.com spoke to the 29-year-old to find out how he’s been keeping busy, his advice and more.

What movie would you recommend and why?
The Talented Mr. Ripley. I wouldn’t have recommended it probably a week ago, but now that I’ve had time to go through things, it’s sort of been revisited and talked about and I just appreciate how great it is.

Have you been able to watch a bunch of movies?
I’ve tried not to, because I don’t know how long we’re going to be in this situation, so I’ve tried not to start binging right away and then be out of things that I can possibly stream.

Is there a book you’d recommend?
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. It was recommended to me a long time ago and I remember it. Now I read a lot, but back then I didn’t read so much, and it was probably one of the first books since early in my childhood that I had and I was very enticed to finish it in a single sitting because it was so good. It was so touching and it’s one that I recommend to a lot of people.

What made you start reading more now than you used to?
It’s just an easy way to shut down. Always if you’re watching something on an iPad, a computer, or a phone, you can get boggled and maybe distracted by other things. I find this way that I put all my electronics far away and when I read, it keeps me more present than a TV show because a TV show you can keep listening to it and maybe check something on your phone in the meantime or that kind of thing. With a book, you need to completely put everything down in the meantime. It just requires more attention.

Especially with your career and how busy you are, it must be good to get away from everything for that bit of time?
I think it’s more of a complete disconnect. I travel with a bunch of books everywhere I go and I love going to different bookstores in different cities. Even though the books might not be changing too much, I think it’s sad to see a lot of mom-and-pop bookstores go out of business.

What music would you recommend to anybody?
It’s a lot of older music that I listen to: a lot of Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, a lot of stuff that’s always playing a little bit more quietly. Nothing to get me too riled up, especially since I’m home all the time [now].

A lot of the guys have been playing video games. Have you gotten into those at all?
I’ve gotten into it for a couple of days. I hadn’t played a single video game for maybe three or four years. So I think this got me into thinking, ‘Okay, how can I kill some time and keep me enticed?’ I got into it for a bit, but I don’t think it’s something that’s going to last in my own personal daily routine.

What video game?
NBA2K has been played a lot. [I like playing with] Toronto, but when we play with friends, everybody has to go with random teams. Sometimes you can get a better team, a disadvantaged team. It just makes everybody have to play with every other team.

Have you been playing it with other players or other friends?
Friends from normal life. It’s just been people that I don’t get a chance to be in the same time zone with. Normally when I have time during the day, they’re working. But this way, everybody’s got a bit more time now and we just find ways to try to make the most of the days.

Of course it’s a very tough time in the world right now, but how nice has it been to get to catch up with those people?
It’s been nice getting on the same page with people, especially because most of my close friends are from outside of the tennis world. They work throughout the day and they’re normally in the North American time zones. Having chances throughout the day when the time zones aren’t an issue, I can actually find time to get in touch rather than getting in touch and having a full conversation over FaceTime once a week or once every two weeks depending how busy everybody is, it can happen daily. 

What’s your message to the fans?
The most important thing is to respect what their government asks of them and also the others around you by staying home and trying to make the most of things, but within your confined space with the people around you, just for everybody’s health. That’s whether it’s the people close to you or people on the other end of the country. This thing spreads fast. It’s not just the people in your community that you affect. It’s them talking to another person, talking to another person, talking to another person.The effects and the ripples can be felt far and wide.

I think people have to respect that and realise the seriousness of what’s going on… for most, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I think people will need to be aware of how it’s changing our lives a lot. You have to respect that process.

Looking to satisfy your tennis cravings? ESPN2 is providing a 22-hour marathon on Saturday that features six epic Grand Slam matches between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The matches can also be viewed on the ESPN app.

Nadal currently leads their ATP Head2Head rivalry 24-16 and has won 10 of their 14 Grand Slam battles. Federer picked up three of his Grand Slam victories at Wimbledon.

Federer-Nadal Marathon Schedule (all times EST on 28 March)

Wimbledon provided additional Grand Slam viewing on Thursday by posting the entire 11-hour, five-minute encounter between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut to their YouTube channel.