The Australian Open 2021 is finally set to kick off on Monday, February 8, amidst chaos surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
The grand slam has endured a rather rocky build-up so far. It was originally scheduled to start on January 18. Tennis Australia was forced to delay its start by three weeks thanks to the country’s strict quarantine rules. A contingent of over 1,000 people, comprising players and staff, arrived on January 15 in 17 charter flights and had to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine that has been imposed on all overseas arrivals.
A lot of the players were reportedly unhappy with the strict bio-secure measures. Among the complainants were the world’s top seed Novak Djokovic (pictured above) and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. Eventually the authorities eased the rules and allowed the players outside their rooms every day for five-hour blocks of training and treatment. There was also furore from the Australian public about players being flown into the country while thousands of Aussies continue to be stranded overseas.
AO update: All tests conducted on AO quarantine participants yesterday have returned negative results.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/H888A7F3mS
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 5, 2021
Melbourne has been the epicentre of Australia’s second wave of COVID-19, forcing other sports like Australian rules football and rugby league to relocate from the city. There were also question marks regarding India’s test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in December, but the match later went ahead as planned. Tennis Australia is adamant that the tournament will go ahead as planned in Melbourne under bio-secure conditions.
Besides defending champion Djokovic and second seed Rafael Nadal, contenders for the men’s singles include Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev. In the women’s competition, world number one Ash Barty will lock horns with defending champ Sofia Kenin, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.
Enter @serenawilliams 👑 pic.twitter.com/9XWBcVAtjw
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 5, 2021
Fans in India can catch live action of the Australian Open on Sony Six and SonyLIV.
