Tomas Berdych is the latest casualty to withdraw from the Rio Olympics, which is taking place next month due to fears of the Zika virus.
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Berdych became third top tennis player to pull out of Olympics in two days.
He posted on Facebook: “I am very sorry to announce that I will not take part in this year’s Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro”.
Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Francisco Dornelles in June declared a state of financial disaster that paved the way for $860 million in emergency aid from the federal government, including funds for Olympics security.
Fifth-ranked Simona Halep on the women’s side and No. 7 Milos Raonic for the men announced their decisions after their names were listed on the ITF’s roster. But the Big Four of Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer are all on the list – for both singles and doubles.
The truck attack that killed more than 80 people in Nice on the French Riviera is a “cause for concern” and additional security measures must be taken for Rio 2016, interim defence minister Raul Jungmann told Globo News.
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In June the government said Brazil’s intelligence agencies were working alongside counterparts in the United States, England, France, Israel and Russian Federation to avert the threat of terrorism. “We need to audit our plans to see if there are any gaps that, for some reason, might have escaped our attention”. Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova will miss the Rio Games because of her doping suspension. He will be replaced by 2012 Olympic all-around bronze medalist Danell Leyva. The killing only ended after police shot and killed the armed driver, who was identified as a 31-year-old Tunisian delivery man.
