Tournament’s director defends decision to play despite poor air quality
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley defended the decision to hold qualifying matches this week even though Melbourne’s air quality was among the worst in the world because of smoke from wildfires devastating parts of the country.
The tournament has drawn criticism from players for contesting matches in conditions that led one, Dalila Jakupovic, to collapse to her knees while coughing heavily, and another, Bernard Tomic, to seek medical attention because of trouble breathing.
Tiley said Thursday the conditions were under a threshold set after Australian Open organizers consulted with sports and medical experts, and scientists from the Environmental Protection Authority.
“Our medical team were satisfied with the conditions that the players were competing in, per all of the research and the data and the science that they have,” Tiley said.
He said matches would have been stopped if medical staff at Melbourne Park decided it was too unhealthy to keep playing.
“Absolutely, we understand the anger, (but) a lot of it comes from the confusion and the complexity of understanding what goes on,” Tiley said. “We’ve invited the players … to come in at any time to have a conversation.
“If anyone at any time is feeling not well, we have a full medical team. We have a respiratory specialist on hand to deal with any of these issues.”
Qualifying matches were delayed for an hour Tuesday and two hours Wednesday until smoke and haze from the regional wildfires cleared enough to allow play to proceed. Rain late Wednesday improved the air quality in Melbourne.
British player Liam Broady was critical Thursday of the playing conditions he dealt with Tuesday in a 63, 60 qualifying loss to 131stranked Ilya Ivashka of Belarus.
“The more I think about the conditions we played in … the more it boils my blood,” Broady posted on Twitter. “We can’t let this slide. The email we received yesterday from the ATP and (Australian Open) was a slap in the face, conditions were ‘playable.’ Were they healthy?”
Broady, who finished last year ranked No. 240, said people in Melbourne were advised to keep their pets indoors on the day he played, “and yet we were expected to go outside for high intensity physical competition?”
Briefly: French Open final opponents Ash Barty and Marketa Vondrousova delivered the same outcome at the Adelaide International: A dominating victory for the No. 1 player in the world. Barty beat Vondrousova 63, 63 to advance to the semifinals. The last time the players met in the final at Roland Garros, Barty won her first Grand Slam title. Barty next will play American Danielle Collins, who beat seventhranked Belinda Bencic 63, 61. ... Alex de Minaur, a 20yearold Australian, withdrew from the Australian Open due to an abdominal strain. He would have been seeded 20th . ... Twotime major winner Garbiñe Muguruza withdrew from her quarterfinal at the Hobart International with a viral illness. She is scheduled to play a qualifier when the Australian Open begins Monday in Melbourne.