POSITIVE TEST PUTS OPEN PREP IN CHAOS

AUSTRALIAN OPEN organisers have scrapped warm-up matches at Melbourne Park today after a positive Covid test sparked alarm.

The build-up to next week’s Grand Slam faces serious disruption after an employee at one of Melbourne’s quarantine hotels tested positive.

As many as 600 players and officials preparing for the tournament, which starts on Monday, must now go into isolation. They will be allowed to play only after a negative test.

The Australian Open, won last year by Novak Djokovic

(circle) and Sofia Kenin (right), had already been delayed three weeks to enable players to quarantine. Seventy-two players and officials were confined to their Melbourne hotel rooms for a fortnight following positive Covid-19 cases on flights. Now there will be no play today and 62 matches scheduled for tomorrow across six separate events have been thrown into doubt.

But Victorian Premier

Daniel Andrews tried to calm fears of an outbreak as he stressed he still expected the Aussie Open to go ahead. He said: “This is one case, there’s no need for people to panic. It may have an impact on the lead-up events but at this stage there’s no impact on the tournament proper.

“He had been working as a resident support officer as part of the Australian Open quarantine programme. He is now in a health hotel.

“There are about 500 to 600 players, officials and others who are casual contacts and they will be isolating until they get a negative test. People will be working throughout the evening, and for as long as it takes, to track down every single close contact and to essentially contain and smother this.”