Belinda Bencic is under house arrest, she says: “I will probably come out of quarantine with a smoker’s lung” – sport

As soon as Belinda Bencic had set up at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne, she received the ominous news by email: Several passengers on the plane with which she flew from Abu Dhabi to Australia in mid-January had tested positive for the corona virus. The local health authorities immediately imposed a 14-day quarantine. And for all travelers – and not just for those of the same cohort, which Bencic originally assumed. The five hours that Bencic could have spent training in Melbourne Park, on the grounds of the Australian Open, were also canceled. She now spends her time on almost 20 square meters in a hotel room where the windows cannot be opened. The food is delivered, but there is no cleaning.

How is Bencic doing after half of the quarantine?

Call in Melbourne. «It was sad news. At first I was very frustrated, ”says Bencic. It is important for her to state that she not only understands this measure, but also considers it right and important. The case of the Spaniard Paula Badosa, who tested positive on Thursday, six days after arriving in Melbourne, shows how correct. “That was a shock,” says Bencic. Nobody expected that one could fall ill after so many days in quarantine. Bencic says:

She is grateful that she has the opportunity to play tennis and do her job. She does not pretend to judge whether it would not have made more sense to cancel the Australian Open. But you can understand people who think that way. “On the other hand, the tournament can perhaps also give people something positive. I know that the Australians love tennis. ” Bencic shares her room with her friend and fitness trainer Martin Hromkovic. “That’s a big advantage for me. He makes me work hard »she says. In the morning she rides the ergometer, in the afternoon she does fitness exercises. Bencic even plays tennis in her room, “so that the muscles don’t forget what it feels like.”

Bencic and thanks to Novak Djokovic

Belinda Bencic has weights and a medicine ball in her room. A sensible training can be done with it. Bencic does what is in their power. Nevertheless, she is afraid of injuries. Muscles, tendons and joints need training every day in order to play at the highest level, she says. That is not possible to the same extent on a few square meters. “It’s like after the holidays. Then it feels like I’ve never played tennis before, ”Bencic draws the comparison. The first days in quarantine were “very bad”. “Of course I wasn’t happy and I was frustrated. I saw my chances of doing well in Australia getting smaller. It’s hard to accept, ”says Bencic.

Bencic is particularly bothered by the inequality among the players. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Dominic Thiem, Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty, who are staying in Adelaide, have a balcony that is as big as the room of the 72 players who are under house arrest in Melbourne. but can’t even open a window. “They deserve these privileges because they are the best and because they have done the most for tennis,” says Bencic. “But please don’t talk about equality and fairness.” After all, Djokovic was very committed to those affected by the harsh quarantine. “We really appreciate that.”

Fight the dust with the tea maker

After arriving in Melbourne and hearing the news, a lot was complicated and chaotic, and the players were portrayed as spoiled troublemakers complaining about the quarantine, bad internet, the food and everything. That’s why she got carried away to an exchange of blows with a Twitter user. “A lot of negative things came in, a lot of hatred. That was uncomfortable. There was a lot of misunderstanding because a lot of untruths were spread. “

Belinda Bencic even looks confident this Friday evening, local time, in half of her quarantine. Is the impression correct? «My friend is a person who thinks positively in every situation. That rubs off, ”says Bencic. The dust in the room gives her problems. The hotel is not allowed to provide them with a vacuum cleaner and it is not possible to ventilate them. “We do everything in this one room: eat, sleep, train intensively.” With the tea maker they tried to improve the air quality. With moderate success. “I will probably come out of quarantine with a smoker’s lung,” jokes Bencic. “I’m looking forward to the fresh air, tennis and the sun.” The time has come on January 29th. Then Bencic is allowed to leave her room for the first time.