Murray voices vaccination fears for tennis stars
SCOT WARNS OF ‘COVID GAP’:
ANDY MURRAY is predicting that a privilege gap will soon open up in tennis between players who have accepted a Covid vaccine and those who have declined.
In calling for more players to get the jab ‘to look out for the wider public’, he expects life to become increasingly difficult on tour for the refuseniks.
The 34-year-old Scot is preparing for Monday’s US Open first-round clash against No3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, coincidentally one of those who says he will not get the jab unless it is made compulsory.
The tournament has been forced at the last minute by local authorities to oblige spectators to prove before entry that they have had at least one vaccine.
Yet at the same time the rough estimate is that only around half the competitors have received any at all, with Novak Djokovic among those wishing for it to remain voluntary.
Murray pointed out that being jabbed is already allowing freedoms that are denied to those unvaccinated in the player cohort.
‘Here you have the situation with gyms and stuff, eating in restaurants and things, you need to be vaccinated,’ he said. ‘I feel like I’m enjoying kind of a fairly normal life, whereas for the players that haven’t, it’s different. I’m sure they’ll be frustrated with that.
‘Ultimately, I guess the reason why all of us are getting vaccinated is to look out for the wider public. We have a responsibility as players travelling across the world to look out for everyone else as well. I’m hoping more players choose to have it in the coming months.’
He revealed that at January’s Australian Open, for example, life promises to be very different for those holding out against them.
‘Over the next few months, things will probably end up changing quite a bit. I know talks about the Australian Open are already happening. The players that have been vaccinated are going to be having very different conditions.
‘I can see it becoming an issue over the coming months. They (and other events) are going to be allowing players that have had the vaccination to train and move freely between the hotel and stuff, potentially not having to quarantine, and things like that. There’s going to have to be a lot of pretty long, hard conversations with the tour and the players to try and come to a solution.’
After another stop-start year Murray knows he faces a big test against one of the few players in the draw capable of stopping
Djokovic. The Scot has only played seven tournaments this season and at main tour level has a modest 6-6 match record.
‘Physically I’ve been good since I’ve been here,’ he said. ‘That was also the case through Wimbledon, too. I was a little fatigued towards the end of Wimbledon because of the longer matches I played in the first couple of rounds, having not played for a while.
‘My body’s been good. I pulled up well the following days after them. That for me has been very positive, but I would obviously like my game to be in a better place. I’ve had opportunities in my matches against top players in the last few weeks and not quite taken them.’
Dan Evans, who plays Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro, is still trying to regain momentum after Covid forced him out of the Olympics. He is in danger of losing the GB No1 spot to Cam Norrie.
In the case of his opposite female number, Jo Konta, she missed both Wimbledon and Tokyo after having the virus, having taken a wait-and-see approach to the jab.
Evans broadly echoes Murray’s sentiments on vaccines, and was due to get his second inoculation when he was struck down shortly after Wimbledon. ‘I didn’t feel well for five or six days, I had quite a bout of it but was never in trouble,’ he said. ‘I’m in favour of them. They haven’t fallen off the back of a lorry, there’s a lot of science in them, that’s my take.
‘For me, it would be good if we could keep each other safe but people have different opinions.’
I can see it becoming an issue over the coming months