He trains hard twice a day in the area of a small hotel room. She does everything she can to get the most out of it and be at least partially prepared for the Australian Open grand slam. In an interview for Aktuálně.cz, the Czech tennis player Barbora Krejčíková describes her strict two-week isolation from Melbourne, which has already turned into her second half.
You are one of those Australian Open participants who has to deal with the strictest quarantine. Can you describe what you are allowed to do? Can’t you really get your heels out of the room at all?
I can only be in my room, that’s all. At the beginning, the conditions were very strict for everyone, when I opened the door to the hall and took food and I still needed to take out the garbage, so there was a security guard in front of my room and watching what I was doing and why I open it so often…
Is the situation a little more benevolent now?
Now it occurs to me that the situation has eased a bit, but I’m not the type to deliberately break the rules. So I obediently sit in the room waiting for information.
How do you tolerate it and how does it feel?
It was a shock at first, mainly due to poor previous communication between the grand slam and the players, but over time I understand. Residents cannot return to Australia and we have been invited to come and play a grand slam. It’s not optimal preparation, but I’m glad I can be here and play some matches after quarantine. The current situation is not easy anywhere.
So did your strictest quarantine come from flying on a plane to Melbourne with a person who was tested positive on arrival?
Yes, one person turned out to be positive upon arrival, so they quarantined the entire plane. I think there were a total of twenty-three tennis players on board.
I assume that you flew with your team and doubles teammate Kateřina Siniaková…
Yes, my sparring is in quarantine, as well as my doubles and mix partners. On the positive side, at least we won’t swear at each other on the court.
There has been speculation for several days that quarantine could be alleviated. What is the latest news?
I don’t know yet, it’s under negotiation, I don’t have any new information. Now the main thing is to test the basis negatively to move on.
How can a professional athlete satisfactorily physically maintain himself in the area of a small hotel room?
It’s not easy, but you do what you can. During the first week, I received an exercise bike and other exercise equipment. I also have aids from pre-season preparation with me, because I preferred not to return to the Czech Republic for Christmas to avoid a possible infection.
What is the recipe for not going crazy? Do you have a lot of free time and you don’t know what to do with it, or are you doing well?
To tell you the truth, I don’t think I have that much free time. I sleep a lot, I watch movies and series, I call with family and friends, I text, I inform fans about what’s happening through Instagram stories, I listen to music, I have trainings for it. I am also in the freestyle-tennis group of Stefan Bojice, every day I get the task of certain tricks with a racket and a ball and I try to teach them. I also have embroidery here, but I haven’t gotten to that yet.
How is your every day spent in the room going?
I get up in the morning, have breakfast, watch one episode of the show, rehearse the first workout, have lunch, have a zoom call with the tournament director, go to bed, watch the episode of the show again, rehearse the second workout, have dinner and do another after evening hygiene part of a series, sometimes a movie or I call and go to sleep. I also take a covid test almost every day, but he doesn’t have his time, he walks randomly.
There are quite passions around the different conditions for training, players argue a lot through social networks, the atmosphere was quite tense in the first week. How do you perceive it? Does it seem unfair to you?
It’s not fair, someone plays in Adelaide, the rest in Melbourne and others sit in the room and can’t get out of it. But what can I do? I only try to influence things that I can influence, so I don’t eat much of it.
Many tennis players have already commented on the air in the sense that if they knew how it would go in Melbourne, they would not fly to the opening grand slam of the season at all. Do you ever have a similar feeling?
It is true that I did not know about some of the rules and measures at all, and I was on all the phone calls about the Australian Open. Still, I didn’t go to the US Open last year because I was worried about my health, but when I sat at home and saw everyone playing there, I almost cried. I was terribly sorry I wasn’t there. So I would go here anyway. I like Australia extremely much and I hope to live normally after a fortnight like I did a year ago.
There are also complaints about food. On the other hand, Elina Svitolinová wrote about three meals a day and 100 dollars a day to order another meal, which is said to be impossible to go through. What about diet?
For example, I didn’t know at first that I could order food from the city. I was originally told that I couldn’t send a package to my room, so I had trouble with the food too. After a few phone calls, I learned that it did not apply to food. Since then, when I don’t like something, I also order and I’m fine.
Don’t you have a mouse in the room like Julia Putince?
Fortunately, I don’t have a mouse. But I think everyone here has encountered a problem. For example, I had to fix the spinning wheel, waited twenty-four hours for the key, and then it was within five minutes of the problem. I’m lucky that my dad is extremely good at working around the house and repairing, so I learned a lot from him and that helped me a lot in this situation.
You have already mentioned the Adelaide case, where the best will play a charity exhibition. It is said that there are simpler quarantines, more favorable conditions. Are you solving it somehow or are you okay with it?
I don’t think it’s fair, but it’s something I won’t affect. Rather, it is astonishing that all the biggest icons of our sport, except Novak Djokovic, do not solve the situation in Melbourne at all. They are not trying to help us or at least support us.
What goals do you set for the tournament itself?
Above all, I want to stay healthy and in a positive mood in every situation.
Fun from the balcony. Imprisoned Dkojovic watches a children ‘s tennis match on the street Video: Reuters
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