Much was made of the conditions some players were subjected to before the tournament but has it really had any effect?
The lead-in to the Australian Open was dominated by quarantine. The domestic debate concerned the appropriateness of importing hundreds of players and officials, each at risk of bringing with them Covid-19 into a country that had gone to great pains to all-but eliminate the virus from its shores. But within the tennis community the focus was on the competitive imbalance brought about by the tiers of quarantine.
A handful of stars were treated to a fortnight of quarantine lite in South Australia, where they were able to work on their games and reacclimatise to the presence of crowds courtside. “It’s a privilege to be here in Adelaide. But it’s not that huge an advantage,” last year’s beaten finalist Dominic Thiem said.
Written by Jonathan Howcroft
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/feb/12/australian-open-has-hotel-quarantine-impacted-player-performance under the title “Australian Open: has hotel quarantine impacted player performance? | Jonathan Howcroft”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
