Australian Open
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has “no intentions” to postpone the first Grand Slam tournament of the year because of a positive coronavirus test for a hotel employee, as he assured at a press conference on Thursday. “We are absolutely confident that the Australian Open will take place,” said Tiley. Everything should take place according to plan, only the draw was postponed by one day.
507 players and officials of the Australian Open bubble had to go into quarantine again because they are considered possible contacts of a hotel employee in the “Grand Hyatt” in Melbourne. Testing started at 9:00 a.m. local time (11:00 p.m. Wednesday CET), Tiley said. They want to be finished by the afternoon. He is optimistic that all tests are negative.
The games of the two ATP and three WTA tournaments as well as the ATP Cup, which the professionals also serve as preparation for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, had been canceled. Dominic Thiem, Dennis Novak and Philipp Oswald / Tristan-Samuel Weissborn were also affected by this. The second group match at the ATP Cup against France had also been postponed. Thiem and Novak are not affected by the quarantine, the APA learned from Thiem manager Herwig Straka. According to media reports, Stan Wawrinka (SUI) and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas are said to be affected by the renewed quarantine.
Tournament boss Tiley said he was confident that they would be back on schedule on Friday when all test results are known. Among other things, the duel between Austria and France will take place there, but the weather forecasts are bad. However, there are at least three roofable courts and eight additional indoor courts, so that all events should be completed by Sunday.
The draw postponed by one day
The draw for the Australian Open, which was scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed by one day. Daniel Andrews, the Prime Minister of the Australian state of Victoria, is more cautious in his forecasts. “Tennis shouldn’t be affected right now, but that can change. Every Victorian knows we are in uncertain times. ”The Australian Open could probably take place, but“ there are no guarantees, ”he added.
