[imagesource: Quinn Rooney via Getty Images]

The Australian Open is only due to start on February 8, but there is already a massive storm brewing.

There’s a good chance the standard of play, at least in the opening rounds, may be a little lower than usual, given that the latest count has 72 professional players under quarantine in Melbourne.

Australian authorities have identified cases of COVID-19 on three separate charter planes used to fly in players from around the world. These flights were from Abu Dhabi, Los Angeles, and Doha, and have resulted in health officials placing 170 people into a strict 14-day, hotel-only lockdown.

In total, 17 charter flights carried around 370 players to Australia to compete over the past week or so.

The 72 players include the likes of Stanislav Wawrinka, Victoria Azarenka, Kei Nishikori, and Sloane Stephens, reports VICE:

Predictably, the world-class athletes are none too pleased about the restrictions, which apply by default to anyone travelling into Australia from overseas—including Australian citizens, and regardless of whether or not they’re considered close contacts to an active COVID-19 case…

Australian authorities claim players and event organisers were fully aware of the quarantine rules before arriving in Australia, with Quarantine Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar insisting that “the rules for close contacts have not changed”.

Some players have taken to social media to say that if they had known about Australia’s quarantine protocols, they wouldn’t have chosen to take part in the tournament.

Others have found creative ways to pass the time and get in a few hits:

Grand slam preparation 😅 pic.twitter.com/ALvc4EugN6

— Yulia Putintseva (@PutintsevaYulia) January 17, 2021

Wrong surface but that doesn‘t matter for us💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/R8FsdyGafy

— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) January 17, 2021

Así pasa Pablo Cuevas sus días de cuarentena en la habitación del hotel en Australia 😅 pic.twitter.com/y96Yh8Ty0U

— Respiro Tenis (@Respiro_Tenis) January 17, 2021

5k 😅 pic.twitter.com/oL2Qehg2LE

— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) January 17, 2021

Women’s world number three Naomi Osaka seems to be hanging in there:

 

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Whilst those above seem to be taking things in their stride, the number one ranked men’s player, Novak Djokovic, is far from happy.

He’s reported to have issued a letter to Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley, with a list of demands for the players.

According to journalist Fernando Murciego, via NewsAU, that list included:

• Fitness and training material in all rooms

• Decent food for elite athletes, following players taking aim at the meals on offer

• Reduce the days of isolation for players in quarantine and carry out more tests to confirm they are negative

• Permission to visit your coach or physical trainer, as long as both test negative

• Grant both the player and their coach permission to be on the same floor of the hotel

• Move as many players as possible to private houses with a tennis court to facilitate training

In a press conference earlier today, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews was not going to budge, saying the answer was no, the country’s COVID-19 protocols had been clearly laid out, and the argument that players weren’t briefed “really has no integrity whatsoever”.

Novak might want to steer clear of giving any advice related to COVID-19, given what happened last year.

Cassar was just as dismissive, saying “it’s a firm no from me”.

To really add insult to injury, some of the elite players that have arrived in Australia, on flights where somebody hasn’t tested positive for COVID-19, have been seen enjoying themselves in Adelaide. Here’s the Telegraph:

…they have been filmed travelling in shuttle buses without facemasks. These superstars are also entitled to take larger entourages with them. Some have claimed that Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem have ten support staff and family members apiece, whereas those in Melbourne were allowed to bring a maximum of two others into the country.

All in all, just a right old mess thus far.

If we end up with Roger Federer winning, though, all will be forgiven.

[sources:vice&newsau&telegraph]