MELBOURNE • All the world’s top tennis players, including 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, are expected to be in Melbourne for the coronavirus-disrupted Australian Open, tournament director Craig Tiley has said.
The opening Grand Slam of the year, in front of at least 50 per cent of normal crowds, has been pushed back three weeks until Feb 8 with all players to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival.
The delay could be pivotal for Federer, who admitted last week he was in a “race against time” to be fit as his recovery from two rounds of knee surgery takes longer than expected.
But Tiley said he had been in touch with the 39-year-old, revealing that he was going through his normal pre-season training routine in Dubai. “Every player, including Roger, has made a commitment to travel to Melbourne to play,” he said after confirming the new start date on Saturday.
“We have been in touch with him and his team and it’s been three days now, he’s hit for the first time in Dubai. He’s in his normal pre-season training routine.
“He did say to us that Feb 8 was a more suitable date for him in terms of preparing for the Australian Open.
“But a lot will depend on how he responds to his surgery in the next two to three weeks of training.”
Federer has won the Australian Open six times.
But after losing in the semi-finals in January to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the Swiss missed the rest of the Covid-interrupted season following surgery and could only watch as Rafael Nadal matched his record of 20 Slam titles with a 13th victory at the French Open.
The men’s and women’s qualifiers will be held in Doha and Dubai respectively from Jan 10 to 13, with players arriving in Melbourne from Jan 15 on special chartered flights for their quarantine.
Tiley added they would constantly be tested for Covid-19 but allowed to train for five hours a day in a bio-secure bubble, albeit with just one other player.
They will be shuttled between designated hotels and Melbourne Park, where the tournament is held and if anyone tests positive, they will need to self-isolate in their room. “If there are any breaches (of quarantine), the player will be immediately removed from the country as well as being fined,” Tiley warned.
A slimmed-down, 12-team ATP Cup, the relocated Adelaide International, and a ATP 250 event will all be played in Melbourne once players are out of isolation.
Two WTA 500 tournaments are also planned to be held concurrently at Melbourne Park from Jan 31 to Feb 7.
Melbourne only emerged from a months-long lockdown in October following a second wave of Covid-19. This has complicated planning for the hard-court event and preparations to allow players and support staff to enter the country, which was closed off to international visitors in March, safely.
Australia has largely contained the coronavirus although a new outbreak in Sydney in recent days has sparked fresh restrictions in parts of the city and state border closures.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE