– With AAP.

Canadian tennis player Brayden Schnur has backtracked on his comments after calling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal “selfish” for remaining silent over potentially hazardous playing conditions during the Australian Open qualifiers.

He apologised on social media on Thursday afternoon.

“I would like to apologise to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. They are two players for whom I have an enormous amount of respect.

“Their contributions to the sport of tennis have been remarkable and I am grateful for everything that they have done.

“I misspoke when I used the term ‘selfish’, a poor choice of words that I regret. Rather, I was trying to explain that we needed leaders like them to keep the conversations going among the players and to further unify our claims.”

My words yesterday were taken out of context and I’d like to clarify… #PlayerUnion pic.twitter.com/Ox3vBFkZYe

— Brayden Schnur (@BraydenSchnur) January 16, 2020

The world No.103, who is the third seed in the Open qualifying tournament, was unimpressed with officials after his first-round win over Austrian Sebastian Ofner, which took over two hours in the smoky conditions that blanketed Melbourne Park on Wednesday.

Schnur said it was incumbent upon the biggest names in the sport to be the voice for lesser-known players.

“It’s got to come from the top guys – Roger and Rafa are a little bit selfish in thinking about themselves and their careers,” he previously told AAP.

“Because they’re near the end and all they’re thinking about is their legacy and they’re not thinking about the sport itself and trying to do what’s good for the sport – so those guys need to step up.”

Schnur battled with conditions on Wednesday, which he described as like smoking a cigarette.

“You feel super dryness in your throat,” he said.

“That’s 100 per cent not normal and players who have asthma are at a huge disadvantage right now.”

Organisers delayed play by three hours on Wednesday but the air quality index at 1pm when the players took to court was still graded as “unhealthy” due to the smoke from the bushfires in Victoria.

German player Dustin Brown had to call for medical treatment and was given an asthma puffer to use during his loss to qualifying top seed Dennis Novak of Austria.

A distressed Brown didn’t want to talk to media post-match.

On Tuesday Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic was forced to retire while leading her match after she collapsed to her knees with a coughing fit.

Schnur said qualifiers were being treated poorly by Open organisers.

“This is why the players need to unite as one and make a decision for themselves because it’s not healthy to play in,” he said.

“You don’t see the best soccer players in the world or the best golfers – if there’s something wrong they postpone the game and in Melbourne they’re just trying to shove us on the court because we’re qualifiers.”

World No.2 Novak Djokovic, who is president of the ATP Player Council, has spoken of his concern for player welfare and questioned whether the tournament start should be delayed until conditions improved.

There was no option to move play to the venue’s eight indoor courts, excluding the main air-conditioned arenas such as Rod Laver, Arena as there are permanent open vents.

While smoke delayed the start of play, it was suspended at 4.30pm when a storm hit Melbourne.

Victorian Jaimee Fourlis was mid-match against China’s Fang Yin Xun, with the pair level at one set all when play was called off.

Queenslander Akira Santillan finished his match before the rain hit, falling to Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

Tennis Australia has defended its stance, saying it will continue to work with its medical team and the Bureau of Meteorology and Environment Protection Authority Victoria scientists when making decisions about whether it’s safe to play.

TA said it has installed measuring devices on-site for air quality, with play cleared to continue during the opening round of qualifying.

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Brett Sutton, has called on the tournament to have an air quality policy but TA says the unprecedented fire crisis meant there hadn’t been time.

During Wednesday night’s Rally for Relief matches, Nadal and Federer announced they would donate $250,000  towards the bushfire appeal.

Feature Image: Getty. 

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