Bopanna stuck in Aus Open strict quarantine
MUMBAI: Setbacks have come thick and fast for Rohan Bopanna over the last couple of days to halt final preparations for next month’s Australian Open, which has been hit with 72 players forced into hard quarantine due to Covid-19 positive cases from their chartered flights landing in Melbourne.
First, India’s top-ranked doubles player learnt that his coach Scott Davidoff had to be quarantined as he was in the Los Angeles flight from which two positive cases came to light on Saturday. On Sunday night, Bopanna was informed about a positive case from his flight from Doha with the organisers asking him to be confined to his hotel room for two weeks. Also, his doubles partner for the Australian Open, Portugal’s Joao Sousa, has not landed after reportedly returning a positive test in Barcelona.
Though Bopanna has tested negative in each of the daily tests conducted in the bio-bubble, he will have to stay put in his room till January 30. That’s one day prior to an ATP 250 tournament in Melbourne in which the doubles world No. 38 is scheduled to play in the lead-up to Australian
Open. “I won’t even have 24 hours (to train) before the tournament,” Bopanna said. “Whatever good you’ve done in the offseason training to come strong and fit, it all goes out of the window. It’s not an ideal scenario.”
A few players spoke out about it on social media saying they were initially informed that only those in sections of the flight that had positive case/s would be quarantined. Bopanna felt the communication from tournament organisers before players boarded the flight “could have definitely been better”.
Bopanna is also currently without his partner Sousa. “My partner is still in Barcelona. Someone told me he has tested positive and they are trying to figure out what it is. So if he doesn’t come here, I don’t even know who I’m playing with.”