Africana55 Radio 
English
Afrikaans
Albanian
Amharic
Arabic
Armenian
Azerbaijani
Basque
Belarusian
Bengali
Bosnian
Bulgarian
Catalan
Cebuano
Chichewa
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Corsican
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Esperanto
Estonian
Filipino
Finnish
French
Frisian
Galician
Georgian
German
Greek
Gujarati
Haitian Creole
Hausa
Hawaiian
Hebrew
Hindi
Hmong
Hungarian
Icelandic
Igbo
Indonesian
Irish
Italian
Japanese
Javanese
Kannada
Kazakh
Khmer
Korean
Kurdish (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz
Lao
Latin
Latvian
Lithuanian
Luxembourgish
Macedonian
Malagasy
Malay
Malayalam
Maltese
Maori
Marathi
Mongolian
Myanmar (Burmese)
Nepali
Norwegian
Pashto
Persian
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Romanian
Russian
Samoan
Scottish Gaelic
Serbian
Sesotho
Shona
Sindhi
Sinhala
Slovak
Slovenian
Somali
Spanish
Sudanese
Swahili
Swedish
Tajik
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Urdu
Uzbek
Vietnamese
Welsh
Xhosa
Yiddish
Yoruba
Zulu
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Tim Henman has said he ‘does not envisage’ the poor air quality and haze from Australia’s ongoing bushfires will be an issue for those competing in the opening match of the inaugural ATP Cup.
Great Britain, captained by former world No 4 Henman, take on Bulgaria on Friday in Sydney – despite current air conditions along Australia’s south-east coast raising health concerns for those competing in the tournament.
But Henman downplayed the issue, instead emphasising the suffering of those who have been affected by the country’s bushfires, which, since September, have killed 18 people and destroyed more than 1,200 homes across New South Wales and Victoria.
“In the context of what this country is going through with the bushfires and for us having to deal with perhaps slightly poor air quality, I think right there is the perspective,” the team captain said at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Syndey. “I don’t envisage it being a problem at all.
“Certainly our thoughts and hearts go out to the people that have been so badly affected, because it’s horrific. We will be prepared well and go out there and give it our best shot. At the end of the day, we are very lucky to be involved in a sport we love and for these guys and for me to being able to do it for a living.”
Created with Sketch.
Created with Sketch.
1/45
A firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra in the state of New South Wales
AFP via Getty
2/45
A satellite image of the Batemans Bay showing smoke and fire from wild bushfires
European Union, Copernicus Sentinel Data via REUTERS
3/45
The afternoon sky glows red from bushfires in Nowra
AFP/Getty
4/45
The remains of burnt out buildings along a main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo
AFP via Getty
5/45
Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland, Victoria. More than 800,000 hectares have been burnt in East Gippsland
EPA/DELWP Gippsland
6/45
A Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighter conducts mopping up near the town of Sussex Inlet
Getty
7/45
A helicopter dumping water on a fire in Victoria's East Gippsland region
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning/AFP
8/45
Think smoke from bushfires fills the air in eastern Gippsland
Getty Images
9/45
Wildfires rage under plumes of smoke in Bairnsdale
Glen Morey via AP
10/45
Boats are pulled ashore as smoke and wildfires rage behind Lake Conjola
Robert Oerlemans via AP
11/45
Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland
EPA/DELWP Gippsland
12/45
LIFES.A.BREEZE via REUTERS
13/45
Smoke and wildfire rage behind Lake Conjola
Robert Oerlemans via AP
14/45
Burning embers cover the ground as firefighters battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra
AFP via Getty
15/45
The sky glows red as bushfires continue to rage in Mallacoota, Victoria
Jonty Smith via Reuters
16/45
Wildfires rage under plumes of smoke in Bairnsdale
AP
17/45
"Carmelised" snow caused by dust from Australian bushfires is seen near Franz Josef glacier in the Westland Tai Poutini National Park, New Zealand
Reuters
18/45
Firefighters try to protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales
NSW Rural Fire Service/AP
19/45
A house and van are seen destroyed after bushfires ravaged the town of Bilpin, west of Sydney
AFP via Getty
20/45
Nowra
AFP via Getty
21/45
Photographer Matt Roberts reacts to seeing his sister's house destroyed by a bushfire in Quaama, New South Wales
EPA
22/45
A helicopter fighting a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria's East Gippsland region
State Government of Victoria/AFP
23/45
Firefighters hose down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra
AFP via Getty
24/45
Fire and Rescue personal run to move their truck as a bushfire burns next to a major road and homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin
Getty
25/45
Amy, left, and Ben Spencer sit at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires
AFP via Getty
26/45
A firefighter sprays foam retardant on a back burn ahead of a fire front in the New South Wales town of Jerrawangala
AFP via Getty
27/45
Two bushfires approach a home located on the outskirts of the town of Bargo
Getty
28/45
A New South Wales Police officer prepares to flee his roadblock on the Princes Highway near the town of Sussex Inlet
Getty
29/45
Property damaged by the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield, Victoria
EPA
30/45
Nowra
AFP via Getty
31/45
Property under threat from the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield
EPA
32/45
A Rural Fire Service firefighter conducts mopping up near the town of Sussex Inlet
Getty
33/45
A home recently destroyed by bushfires can be seen near the town of Bilpin
Getty
34/45
The main street of the New South Wales town of Bombala is pictured shrouded in smoke from nearby bushfires
AFP via Getty
35/45
An aerial view of a bushfire near Bairnsdale
State Government of Victoria/EPA
36/45
The remains of burnt out buildings in Cobargo
AFP via Getty
37/45
Business owners stand in front of their shop which was destroyed by a bushfire in Cobargo
EPA
38/45
Tourists walk through dense smoke from bushfires in front of the Batemans Bay bridge as cars line up to leave the town
AFP via Getty
39/45
Children play at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires
AFP via Getty
40/45
The afternoon sky glows orange from bushfires in the area around the town of Nowra
AFP via Getty
41/45
People climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a 'Bridge Climb' guided tour
Getty
42/45
A Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighter conducts mopping up near the town of Sussex Inlet
Getty
43/45
Property damaged by a fire is seen at a Sarsfield residence in East Gippsland
Reuters
44/45
German tourists Julia Wasmiller, left, and Jessica Pryor pose for a photo at Mrs Macquarie's chair, wearing face masks due to heavy smoke
Getty
45/45
Cars line up to leave the town of Batemans Bay in New South Wales
AFP via Getty
1/45
A firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra in the state of New South Wales
AFP via Getty
2/45
A satellite image of the Batemans Bay showing smoke and fire from wild bushfires
European Union, Copernicus Sentinel Data via REUTERS
3/45
The afternoon sky glows red from bushfires in Nowra
AFP/Getty
4/45
The remains of burnt out buildings along a main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo
AFP via Getty
5/45
Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland, Victoria. More than 800,000 hectares have been burnt in East Gippsland
EPA/DELWP Gippsland
6/45
A Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighter conducts mopping up near the town of Sussex Inlet
Getty
7/45
A helicopter dumping water on a fire in Victoria's East Gippsland region
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning/AFP
8/45
Think smoke from bushfires fills the air in eastern Gippsland
Getty Images
9/45
Wildfires rage under plumes of smoke in Bairnsdale
Glen Morey via AP
10/45
Boats are pulled ashore as smoke and wildfires rage behind Lake Conjola
Robert Oerlemans via AP
11/45
Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland
EPA/DELWP Gippsland
12/45
LIFES.A.BREEZE via REUTERS
13/45
Smoke and wildfire rage behind Lake Conjola
Robert Oerlemans via AP
14/45
Burning embers cover the ground as firefighters battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra
AFP via Getty
15/45
The sky glows red as bushfires continue to rage in Mallacoota, Victoria
Jonty Smith via Reuters
16/45
Wildfires rage under plumes of smoke in Bairnsdale
AP
17/45
"Carmelised" snow caused by dust from Australian bushfires is seen near Franz Josef glacier in the Westland Tai Poutini National Park, New Zealand
Reuters
18/45
Firefighters try to protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales
NSW Rural Fire Service/AP
19/45
A house and van are seen destroyed after bushfires ravaged the town of Bilpin, west of Sydney
AFP via Getty
20/45
Nowra
AFP via Getty
21/45
Photographer Matt Roberts reacts to seeing his sister's house destroyed by a bushfire in Quaama, New South Wales
EPA
22/45
A helicopter fighting a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria's East Gippsland region
State Government of Victoria/AFP
23/45
Firefighters hose down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra
AFP via Getty
24/45
Fire and Rescue personal run to move their truck as a bushfire burns next to a major road and homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin
Getty
25/45
Amy, left, and Ben Spencer sit at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires
AFP via Getty
26/45
A firefighter sprays foam retardant on a back burn ahead of a fire front in the New South Wales town of Jerrawangala
AFP via Getty
27/45
Two bushfires approach a home located on the outskirts of the town of Bargo
Getty
28/45
A New South Wales Police officer prepares to flee his roadblock on the Princes Highway near the town of Sussex Inlet
Getty
29/45
Property damaged by the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield, Victoria
EPA
30/45
Nowra
AFP via Getty
31/45
Property under threat from the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield
EPA
32/45
A Rural Fire Service firefighter conducts mopping up near the town of Sussex Inlet
Getty
33/45
A home recently destroyed by bushfires can be seen near the town of Bilpin
Getty
34/45
The main street of the New South Wales town of Bombala is pictured shrouded in smoke from nearby bushfires
AFP via Getty
35/45
An aerial view of a bushfire near Bairnsdale
State Government of Victoria/EPA
36/45
The remains of burnt out buildings in Cobargo
AFP via Getty
37/45
Business owners stand in front of their shop which was destroyed by a bushfire in Cobargo
EPA
38/45
Tourists walk through dense smoke from bushfires in front of the Batemans Bay bridge as cars line up to leave the town
AFP via Getty
39/45
Children play at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires
AFP via Getty
40/45
The afternoon sky glows orange from bushfires in the area around the town of Nowra
AFP via Getty
41/45
People climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a 'Bridge Climb' guided tour
Getty
42/45
A Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighter conducts mopping up near the town of Sussex Inlet
Getty
43/45
Property damaged by a fire is seen at a Sarsfield residence in East Gippsland
Reuters
44/45
German tourists Julia Wasmiller, left, and Jessica Pryor pose for a photo at Mrs Macquarie's chair, wearing face masks due to heavy smoke
Getty
45/45
Cars line up to leave the town of Batemans Bay in New South Wales
AFP via Getty
Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria’s player-captain, described the air quality in Sydney as “terrible” but insisted that “we’re all ready to play”.
“We are aware of it, but I think everything is under control,” the former world No 3 said.
“We saw a little bit on the news. We get the right information and suggestions from medical [advisors] and everybody. Everything seems to check out pretty good for us. We’re kind of happy that everything is [under] control right now, and nothing worse is going to happen. Obviously we’re concerned about that, but we’re all ready to play. Hopefully everything gets better as the days go by.”
Tennis Australia announced on Thursday that it would be raising money for victims of the bushfires after Nick Kyrgios urged the governing body to take action.
“For weeks we’ve been watching the devastation caused by bushfires across Australia and the people affected are constantly in our thoughts,” said Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia’s chief executive.
“We want to help these communities in a meaningful way and will announce a number of fund-raising and support initiatives that will be rolled out across the ATP Cup, Australian Open and our other events over the coming weeks. Stay tuned for further announcements.”
Kyrgios, who has joined teammates in Brisbane for Australia’s first-round tie against Germany, announced on Twitter that he would be kicking off his fundraising by donating $200 per ace he hits across all events in the Australian summer.
“All the heartbreak this summer, it’s pretty tragic what’s going on, especially with my hometown, Canberra, being under a bit of smoke, the most hazardous smoke in the world,” he said. “But I’m sure that all these guys [his teammates] will be happy to help.”