Australian Open has 'zero chance' of going ahead if Victorian government stand by quarantine rules

The Australian Open has “zero chance” of going ahead if the Victorian government insists on the hardest of quarantines for all incoming tennis players.

That was the message from Australian No 2 John Millman, who gave an extended interview to the Tennis Podcast – a partner of Telegraph Sport – about his own 14-day internment in a Sydney hotel.

Australian media offered an update overnight that suggested a fortnight’s delay for the tournament, moving back from its original start date of Jan 18 to Feb 1, though nothing has yet been officially confirmed.

The real issue, though, is what the players will be able to do in the first two weeks after they arrive. Tennis Australia hope that Victorian premier Daniel Andrews will let them train at certain bio-seucre tennis centres. On this question, the whole enterprise rests.

“[Tennis Australia chief executive] Craig Tiley and the team do an incredible job,” said Millman, who is the world No 38 and Australian No 2. “But this has been so challenging for them, the goalposts have been moved so many times by the local health authorities.

“It does seem like we are getting plans in place,” added Millman, who described his own two-week quarantine as a brutal experience.

"Originally I was hearing that players would have to come in and do a 14-day hard lockdown, like I am doing right now. But I have always been of the opinion that if they have to do this, there is zero chance of the tournament going ahead.

“I just don’t think it’s conducive to a player’s health to come and do 14 days confined to your room and then go out there and play a grand slam. There’s a risk of injury. You lose so much conditioning. This is going to take me a week or two just to start feeling the ball again once I get out of here, so I have always thought that if that was the case, the grand slam would not exist.

“But I am starting to hear that there has been some wiggle room lately. While there might not be any competition in quarantine, it does look like there’s going to be some bio-security bubble where we will be able to go and train and then go back to our hotel room.

“If this is the case – and I am hearing that it is more likely – I am sure it [the Australian Open] will go ahead. I think we will see the start date pushed back a week or two. Unfortunately I don’t see the Australian government allowing competition during that 14 days [of quarantine] but I do think we will be able to play and I think maybe we might go straight into the Australian Open [without a lead-up event]. Again it’s speculation and we have seen the goalposts moved so many times on this issue but that is my gut feel right now.”

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