Australian Open: Kyrgios says he is “reassured” by the conditions of organization of the tournament

Nick Kyrgios on a tennis court. We have not seen this image (in competition) since the Acapulco tournament in February 2020, and the person had then abandoned after a set only in the first round against Ugo Humbert. The return of the Aussie to Melbourne at the start of 2021 is therefore a small event after an almost blank season due to the coronavirus pandemic. And just before resuming the racket in tournament, he confided on his state of mind to our American colleagues at CNN.

“I feel pretty safe actually. And that was not the case last year. I didn’t see myself traveling abroad, it was a bit too early to play. In Melbourne, with the bubble obviously, they did an incredible job. There is no slackening of the authorities and they make sure that everyone respects the rules. And I think the conditions are pretty safe now“, he estimated.

Rather in good shape according to the videos recently unveiled on social networks of his training sessions with his compatriot Jordan Thompson, Kyrgios has taken the health situation very seriously in recent months, being particularly virulent towards those of his colleagues who were less. If his outspokenness may offend some, the Australian undeniably has the merit of consistency.

“I don’t want to endanger anyone. Like everyone else, I have loved ones and loved ones and I don’t want to expose them to Covid. With these measurements, I think it’s pretty safe. The players knew when they got here what the restrictions were going to be (…), so there’s no real reason to complain. I think if everyone had treated the pandemic like Australia did, we wouldn’t be here“, he further explained. In Melbourne, 111 days of total quarantine were imposed last year to control the epidemic and the country has so far” only “909 deaths linked to the coronary heart disease.

Priority to health therefore for Kyrgios. And if Australian spectators will be able to benefit from his talent, and perhaps his pranks, from next week on the courts, will it be the same for their American and European counterparts in the spring? We can still doubt it.