Roger Federer Exhibition Match in Colombia Cancelled Amid Security Concerns

The exhibition match between Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev, which was scheduled on Friday evening in Bogota, Colombia has been cancelled due to a curfew in the city following the recent riots in the town.

“I am heartbroken for the people of Bogota. Due to the curfew tonight, unfortunately, we could not put on the match I have waited so long for,” Roger Federer wrote in an Instagram post after the match got canceled.

“I promise everyone, Sascha and I will be returning in the future to give our Colombian fans the chance to see us play. With such great and lasting memories from my 2012 tour to Bogota, I can’t wait to make that happen again,” the Swiss star further added.

The Movistar Arena was expecting to have over 14,000 people in attendance for the friendly match. However, it had announced the match would be moving forward two hours due to security concerns from the recent riots in Bogota.

Alexander Zverev and Roger then came out on the court to meet the fans and announced that the match had to be unfortunately cancelled.

“I’m very happy to be back in Bogota. I wanted to come back and play for many years. I was ready to go and so was Sacha, we are so sorry that this cannot happen but sometimes these things tend to happen. We have to be safe, we have to be careful and that’s why this is a decision for the people. I hope to be one day coming back and playing in front of you,” Roger Federer said to the crowd.

Roger Federer is currently touring North and South America, where he is playing a series of exhibition matches against Alexander Zverev in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Ecuador.

Also Read: Is Roger Federer Putting His Life in Danger by Playing the Exhibition