World number one Novak Djokovic claims that most ATP Tour players would not want the tennis season to continue if strict quarantines are required before tournaments.
Speaking after his quarter-final victory over Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open on Tuesday, he said he wants answers on what the post-Melbourne season will be like.
Players arriving for the Australian Open had to go through a 14-day quarantine process. While many players were allowed out for up to five hours to train, some were confined to their rooms 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the entire period of isolation after COVID-19 cases were discovered in your incoming flights.
Djokovic was not one of the players affected by the additional quarantine requirements, but he says a series of injuries among top players could be due to the strange preparations.
“What we are seeing is not normal. It is not something we are used to. The best players are the ones who are fittest. That has been proven in the past to be the case, ”Djokovic, who has been playing with an abdominal injury sustained in his third-round match against Taylor Fritz, told reporters.
“Now you have (Matteo) Berrettini, even Rafa (Nadal) who comes with a back injury, myself, Sascha (Zverev), we also had problems, (Grigor) Dimitrov. I mean, it obviously has something to do with these kinds of circumstances that we were in.
“We hope it is temporary. But speaking to a lot of players, most don’t want to go ahead with the season if we have to quarantine ourselves before most tournaments. “
The Australian Open quarantine was especially strict, but even at last year’s American and French Opens, players had to follow strict guidelines.
Djokovic, who formed the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) last year, said the Players Council, of which he is no longer a part, wanted answers from the ATP.
“I spoke to some of the council members, and they say they have extensive discussions about that with ATP management,” he said. “I am waiting for answers. I want to understand what our continuation of the season will be like after Australia, because it is definitely not good for the well-being of the players. “
The 17-time Grand Slam champion said players tolerate quarantine due to financial incentives at the Australian Open, but said the same would not be true of some regular ATP Tour tournaments.
“I’m not pointing fingers at anyone. It’s just that I’m talking about what’s going on, ”he said.
“We have to find out if it’s kind of like an NBA bubble, because I’ve heard some players talk about it, and I don’t mind arguing about that kind of idea,” he said.
“Select a location and we will play all the tournaments on that surface and that location. Three, four weeks, rest, then return. Something like that.”
Djokovic said that with the Tour moving into Europe and North America, where COVID-19 rates are still high, players face more potential quarantines and limits on support staff.
“Some countries don’t want to accept people who come from some specific countries because of the virus strains, different virus strains,” he said. “I don’t know how we are going to handle that, honestly. But we have to address this very quickly. “
Zverev echoed Djokovic’s thoughts.
“We cannot have a touring circuit at the moment,” he said.
“What the ATP should do is maybe have a place like this and play several weeks in one place. At the end of the day in Europe right now we can’t have spectators, so what difference does where we play the tournament really make? “
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