Aussie Open boss says `vast majority' of players back hard quarantine
Australian Open boss Craig Tiley said on Tuesday most players supported being locked down in hard quarantine as a government official reported three new cases of COVID-19 might be linked to the Grand Slam.
More than 70 players and their entourage are confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days and unable to train for the Feb. 8-21 Australian Open after passengers on three charter flights returned positive tests for the coronavirus.
Some players have complained about the conditions, and men's world No. 1 Novak Djokovic sent governing body Tennis Australia requests for quarantine restrictions to be eased, drawing a backlash from Australians.
Tiley said he had a call with 500 players to address concerns and the “vast majority” had been supportive of Australia's strict protocols.
“The vast majority, most of them have been fantastic and been supportive,” Tiley told the Nine Network on Tuesday.
“(They) know that this is the contribution that they have to make in order to get the privilege of when they do come out to compete for (millions) in prize money.
Tiley, however, conceded that the 72 players in hard quarantine were at a disadvantage to rivals who arrived on other flights and can train up to five hours a day.
“Yes, it's not an even playing field as far as preparation goes, but we're going to play our part to try to even it up as much as possible,” he said.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews reported four new cases of COVID-19 in hotel quarantine on Tuesday and said three may be linked to Australian Open personnel.
The infections added to four linked to the tournament cohort on Monday.
Andrews told reporters some of the cases might be reclassified as “viral shedding” from historical infections, which could allow some players and officials to be released from hard quarantine.
Davis Cup Finals expands schedule
The 2021 Davis Cup Finals will be held over 11 days rather than seven and will almost certainly be staged across three cities, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) confirmed on Monday.
The changes proposed by the ITF's event partner Kosmos Tennis, the Spanish-based investment firm who are pumping in $3 billion over 25 years, were agreed by the ITF board.
This year's event is scheduled for Nov. 25-Dec. 5.
The ITF confirmed that two more European cities are being sought to share the staging of the 2021 Finals with Madrid, which hosted the first edition of the revamped competition in 2019.
Another change is to have the Finals trimmed from 18 to 16 teams from 2022.
The 121-year-old men's team event had a major revamp in 2019 with the season-long home-and-away tie format replaced by a soccer World Cup-type format with the top 18 nations battling for the title in November.
While there was praise for the new event, the logistics of playing 25 ties, each consisting of two singles and a doubles, on three courts in seven days was challenging.
A 10-week bidding process opened on Monday for European cities keen to join Madrid in hosting.
Turin, the new host of the ATP Finals, would be a logical option while London is another potential co-host.