The boss of the Australian Open is reassuring: yes, he said, Melbourne will welcome the first round of the Grand Slam from February 8.
And yet, the preparation of the tournament promises to be very complicated for 72 players subjected to a strict two-week confinement.
In question: positive cases in Covid-19 passengers on the flights that brought them to Australia.
To avoid any spread of the virus, the organizers did not want to take any risks and have placed in solitary confinement former winners of the tournament, like the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka or the German Aneglique Kerber.
They are not allowed to leave their hotel room, not even to train, under penalty of a fine of around 13,000 euros, and in the event of a repeat offense, a policeman would even be sent to keep watch in front of their door !
Bad publicity for the Australian Open which had to do without Andy Murray, tested positive for Covid-19, and without Roger Federer, not sufficiently recovered from his knee injury.
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