Tennis fans have to be patient: The Australian Open – the first major tournament of the year – has been postponed. The organizers announced this on Thursday. Accordingly, the Grand Slam tournament in Down Under will not start in January, as usual, but only in February. Specifically, the date is now set for February 8-21.
The reason is the coronavirus pandemic. For a long time it was speculated that the tournament in Melbourne would have to be postponed due to the difficult situation in the players’ home countries. The organizers also announced strict measures on Thursday: The qualified players and their support teams will have to go through a mandatory 14-day quarantine after arriving in Australia.
Federer’s wish is heard
The postponement of the Australian Open should please Swiss tennis fans. Roger Federer (39), who is in the build-up phase after two operations on the knee, recently sowed doubts as to whether his planned comeback could take place in Melbourne. “Its getting close. Recently, I’ve been doing a lot in the conditioning and physio area. Now comes the tennis, “said Federer at the weekend at the Sports Awards.
Federer was still hoping that the first major tournament of the year would be postponed to February 8th. “That would help me, because then I would have a little more time,” says the maestro. This is exactly what has happened now!
“We will see”: Here Roger Federer indicates his resignation(00:56)
Corona situation in Australia: Hardly any cases
Australia is largely coronavirus-free. However, there are always isolated cases of coronavirus infection that are meticulously tracked by the authorities and subject to strict quarantine. Two coronavirus cases were only discovered in Sydney on Wednesday; The entire environment of those affected and all possible contacts had to be tested for the corona virus immediately and go into self-isolation.
Such situations have always led to absolute travel bans between the individual states of Australia in recent months. The national borders have been tight for months – even for thousands of Australians abroad. (nim / SDA)
