The 2021 Australian Open will take place under truly unique conditions, not only due to the postponement of the first seasonal Grand Slam to February. All the players were indeed forced to spend two weeks in quarantine upon their arrival in Australia, a factor that could greatly affect the physical and technical performance of the athletes.
The Top 3 ATP and WTA rankings were able to stay in Adelaide instead of Melbourne, where they were able to enjoy additional advantages over most of their colleagues.
In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, former world number 7, Barbara Schett provided an update on the situation on the eve of the ‘Happy Slam’. The current Eurosport presenter brought up the example of some players, like Ashleigh Barty, who did not play an official WTA tournament in Doha in February last year.
The 2019 Roland Garros champion might struggle to find the right pace, and so can her compatriot Nick Kyrgios (who will be engaged in best-of-five-set matches).
Schett on the Australian Open of 2021
“Ash Barty has been in Australia all year.
She’s rested, hasn’t had to go through quarantine, has been training on this surface for so long and she’s ready to go, “said Barbara Schett, who will host Eurosport’s coverage of the Open. ‘Australia.
“She’s happy in the heat, comfortable with the conditions and for me she’s the player to watch because she has everything it takes to do well in this tournament and some advantages over her opponents.
Of course, she hasn’t played too many matches and that’s an issue we’re waiting to see how she responds to it, but I think she has some big advantages over all the other top players.
Right now I wouldn’t put any money on anybody because we just don’t know what shape the players are going to be in, but Ash Barty has a very good chance of doing well in this competition.
“The quarantine issue dominated the news agenda ahead of the Australian Open, with Australian resident Schett confirming that it was a huge challenge to overcome this after going through a similar experience last year.
“You can maintain your fitness in the hotel room, but then you go out and it’s 35 degrees… everything is very different,” she continued. “These players who have been locked up haven’t hit a ball for two weeks and this is unusual for tennis players as we tend to play all the time so it will be difficult to win the event if you have gone through quarantine without being able to leave your room.
They will all lose a bit of physical shape and after doing it myself I can say that you lose a bit of your soul as well. Look at someone like Victoria Azarenka, who was forced to spend the entire two-week quarantine period in a hotel without the chance to hit a ball.
It will be difficult for her to go out and fight for the title in Melbourne as her preparations have not been in the best conditions “With 17 Grand Slam titles to his name, Novak Djokovic is in the race with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most major trophies for men.
–
