Right now it is more necessary than ever to listen to tennis players. They are the ones in quarantine, some in isolation, forced to accept extreme conditions in the weeks leading up to a Grand Slam tournament. He Open de Australia 2021 is making things difficult, so the easiest thing is to put the tape recorder in front and let the protagonists speak, as he has done Anett Kontaveit in The Age. Perhaps being one of the most famous local portals we will not find a high level of criticism, despite this it is always interesting to see how the news comes directly from the mouth of a player. We listen to the Estonian.
“Right now it is difficult to know if I will be able to perform at my best at the next Australian Open having spent two weeks locked in my hotel room in Melbourne. I’ve never been through this before, none of us have. Given the conditions, it will be difficult to play my best tennis, but it is what it is, we are the first to understand the very cautious measures of the health authorities.
I was one of the players who came on the charter flight from Abu Dhabi, where there were two positive cases for coronavirus on board when we landed in Australia. That’s why I have to spend two weeks in my room, without being entitled to the five hours of training that most of the players have. Some tennis players have spoken more than others about the strict quarantine, but I think the impact that many had when they realized that they were in one of the planes with positives has been decisive.
We fully understand that there are many who have been locked up here for months, Melbourne does not want to take any risks, they want to keep the virus out of the community. We do not want any risk either, so we are happy that the health authorities carry out these plans. It is a time when everything is changing, every minute, so we must make the most of the situation and train as we can in the rooms. Once we are out, we will have time to prepare for the Australian Open.
I hope to come out of quarantine next week and play one of the events in Melbourne. One of my best friends, Maria Sakkari, is also locked up, she was going to be precisely my training partner. With both her and Jennifer Brady we continually call each other, trying to keep our spirits up. It is always nice to communicate with people who are in the same situation as you. Normally between tennis players we would not talk so much, but now it is great to be able to support each otherThey know how I feel
Many of my friends in the dressing room are in the same hotel as me, although it is curious that we cannot meet in person. In fact, I discovered that both my coach (Nigel Sears) and I were unable to leave our rooms for just one day after arriving at the hotel. We had to come up with a new plan to prepare for the tournament. At first it was difficult to hear so much negative news, it took us more than a day to accept it and get used to the new reality. Luckily my fitness trainer gave me a program and now we are working to stay in shape and keep my mind fresh. I have an exercise bike, weights and medicine balls ”.
.
