Are these “fair conditions”?
Boris Becker criticizes the lack of equal opportunities at the Australian Open
Boris Becker
© Hendrik Schmidt / DPA
Over 70 tennis professionals are in quarantine before the Australian Open. “Is that correct, is it reasonable?” Doubts Boris Becker – and criticizes the organizers.
Boris Becker has criticized the different conditions for tennis players at the Australian Open. According to the organizers, a total of 72 professionals and members of the supervisory staff are in quarantine for 14 days. They are not allowed to leave their hotel rooms. The reason for this are corona cases on some charter flights to Melbourne. Unaffected players are allowed out to train for five hours a day.
Boris Becker criticizes Australian Open
“When you get out of quarantine, you haven’t even been out in the fresh air, haven’t played tennis,” says Becker in “The Yellow of the Ball – the Eurosport Tennis Podcast”: they haven’t played a ball and then have a week to prepare for best-of-five matches, at least for the men, in the hot conditions.
The whole winter preparation is for the cat, said Becker. The 53-year-old adds: “You have to ask yourself whether these are fair conditions for everyone. As an organizer you have to ask yourself: Is that correct, is it reasonable?”
US Open winner Dominic Thiem also spoke of a “severe competitive disadvantage” for the professionals concerned. “It was incredibly unfortunate for them, I am also very sorry for them. But of course everyone knew what they were getting into,” said the 27-year-old Austrian in the Eurosport podcast. A cancellation of the tournament, which is supposed to start on February 8th, would be unfair from Thiem’s point of view to everyone else who would have made the long journey.
