Melbourne / 05.02.2021 00:40:08
Tennis returned to the courts on Friday Melbourne, with a heavily loaded program and adapted formats to make up for lost time, after all players tested negative for coronavirus after a case registered in a hotel in the Australian Open.
“All tests made yesterday (…) they gave negative“, according to a tweet released this Friday on the official account of the Australian tournament.
Total, 507 people had to undergo tests diagnostic and isolate themselves in their hotel rooms while they awaited the results. From them, 495 received results first and the other 12 had to wait longer to see if they could continue playing.
The encounters had been suspended Thursday.
The director of Open, the australian Greg Tiley, in a statement to the radio 3AW from Melbourne He had been confident that spectators will be able to attend the preliminary matches of the Australian Open which starts on Monday.
“The spectators will be authorized in person and we continue selling tickets“he added.
“The place will be an extremely safe place,” Tiley promised. “There are controls, the contact tracing Y physical distance“.
The programs of the six preparatory competitions for the Australian Open have been published.
All singles matches of the three tournaments WTA 500 have been shortened and there will be a super tie break in ten winning points in the eventual 3rd set. In the case of men, no format change has been announced, but all the 8th and 4th of the two tournaments ATP 250 they will be played on Friday. No changes have been announced to the ATP Cup.
All this because half a thousand people – players and accredited personnel – who passed the quarantine in the hotel Grand Hyatt, where an employee tested positive Wednesday at coronavirus, had to undergo a new diagnostic test on Thursday and isolate themselves again, after a first more or less strict quarantine of 14 days upon arrival at Australia.