Zurich, Apr 4 (IANS): Swiss tennis great Roger Federer posted a video of him hitting a tennis ball against the wall and appealed to everyone to listen to local governments and stay safe.

Federer could be seen placing the camera against the wall facing him and hitting the ball with a tennis racquet.

"Against the wall, like in the old days. Staying active at home, very important at the moment. But seriously it's more important than ever that we listen to the local government, we adapt to the new situation and try our best there," he says in the video. He ends it by hitting the ball at the camera seemingly accidentally.

Federer is recovering from a knee surgery and was set to take a break in the current period anyhow. He had earlier announced that he would be giving the French Open, which was set to start on May 24, a miss this year.

However, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has put a stop on the tennis calendar as a whole. The French Open has been postponed to September 20 while Wimbledon, which Federer has won a record eight times, has been cancelled for the first time since the Second World War.