Boris Becker has criticized the different conditions for tennis players at the Australian Open. According to the organizers, a total of 72 professionals and members of the supervisory staff are in quarantine for 14 days. They are not allowed to leave their hotel rooms. The reason for this was corona cases on some charter flights to Melbourne. Unaffected players are allowed out to train for five hours a day.
“When you get out of quarantine, you haven’t even been out in the fresh air, haven’t played tennis,” Becker said in “The Yellow Off the Ball – the Eurosport Tennis Podcast”: “No matter how many steps you took in the room , they haven’t played a ball and then have a week to prepare for best-of-five matches, at least for the men, in the hot conditions. This task is actually not possible. “
The whole winter preparation is for the cat, said Becker. The 53-year-old added: “The question of whether these are fair conditions for everyone has to be asked. As an organizer you have to ask yourself: Is that correct, is that reasonable? ”Among other things, the German Angelique Kerber is currently in quarantine and is only allowed to stay in her hotel room for the time being.
US Open winner Dominic Thiem also spoke of a “severe competitive disadvantage” for the professionals concerned. “It was incredibly unfortunate for them, and I’m also very sorry for them. But of course everyone knew what they were getting into, ”said the 27-year-old Austrian in the Eurosport podcast. A cancellation of the tournament, which is supposed to start on February 8th, would be unfair from Thiem’s point of view to everyone else who would have made the long journey.
.
