Spanish tennis stars Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer insisted on Monday that they were unworried by Brazil’s Zika virus outbreak as they prepare to compete at the Rio Open ATP tournament this week.
“I’m not at all afraid,” Nadal, 29, told a press conference. “I go out at night, and I know there’s a risk, but I’m just happy to be back here again.
“If I get sick well then that’s just bad luck,” insisted the 14-time Grand Slam winner.
“I can see for myself that people here are going about their business as if everything was okay, so things can’t be that bad.
“People are going to the beach, going out for walks, having dinner in restaurants,” the world number five continued.
Ferrer, ranked sixth in the world, said he had been reassured by Brazil’s efforts to wipe out the mosquitoes which carry the virus.
“We’ve been told that everything possible has been done so that there will be no mosquitoes, which is comforting,” he said.
“We’ve been wearing long trousers at night but I’m not getting obsessed by the whole thing.”
Brazil has been most affected by the outbreak that has spread rapidly through Latin America, with 1.5 million people in the country infected.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vowed that the virus would not jeopardize the Rio Olympics in August.
