Players ‘back tough stance in Australia’

AUSTRALIAN Open boss Craig Tiley says most players support being locked down in hard quarantine as the local government yesterday reported three new cases of Covid-19 linked to participants of the grand slam.

Victoria health officials said two previous cases have been classified as prior infections, taking the total positive cases associated with the tournament to seven.

Tiley said the athletes who tested positive were not considered contagious and were still at their regular accommodation.

More than 70 players and their entourages are confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days and unable to train for the tournament, which starts on February 8, after passengers on three

Of the 1,270 that arrived six positives is low percentage

charter flights returned positive tests.

Some players have complained about the conditions, and men’s world No.1 Novak Djokovic suggested governing body Tennis Australia eased quarantine restrictions, drawing a backlash from Australians.

‘For the 1,270 (that arrived), having six positives is a low percentage so that’s a percentage to manage,’ Tiley said, refuting some players’ claims they were not made aware of the protocols before travelling.

‘We will turn the corner on those few that don’t have the right approach to this. But the rest have been really good,’ he said.

Tiley also defended Djokovic, saying the defending champion had written ‘a note – these weren’t demands, they were suggestions’.

Meanwhile, Tiley has ruled out reducing the men’s singles to best-ofthree sets – an idea floated by some players and pundits concerned about insufficient preparation time.