John Millman among several Aussies facing anxious wait ahead of 2021 Open

The sudden change in entrance requirements to Victoria caught several Australian players by surprise.

Davis Cup star John Millman has already served one stint of hotel quarantine and may yet be forced in for another fortnight ahead of the Australian Open Picture: Jane Dempster

Davis Cup stars John Millman and Jordan Thompson are among several Australian players anxiously awaiting resolution to a border dilemma to ensure their appearance in Melbourne next month.

The sudden closure of the Victorian border earlier this month due to the emergence of the more contagious British variant of COVID-19 has jeopardised the preparation of a number of Australians.

Millman was training with Davis Cup teammate James Duckworth outside Pat Rafter Arena last Friday when they were alerted to a rapid change in entrance requirements for Victoria.

While world No 1 Ash Barty and other Australian Open competitors including Lizzie Cabrera successfully scrambled to beat the deadline to enter Victoria, Millman was among those caught on the wrong side of the border.

“Ducks and I were the only players left at the tennis centre. We were still training there at 4.30pm when we were told what had happened,” he told The Australian.

“Trying to get out of there then, there were no options available to us. It was impossible to get home and pack our bags for weeks away and get back to the airport for a commercial flight.”

Millman, who will team with fellow US Open quarter-finalist Alex de Minaur, John Peers and Luke Saville in the ATP Cup for Australia in the week prior to the Australian Open, said it was a tricky situation to be in.

Others stranded in Queensland include Maddison Inglis, an emerging talent who travelled overseas last year to compete in the US and French opens.

Tennis Australia has held regular phone calls with the players and coaches caught up by the border closure, with another conference scheduled for Thursday night.

World No 47 Richard Gasquet and his coach Julien Cassaigne were among several tennis players and support staff to arrive in Melbourne on Thursday Picture: AFP

In a massive exercise, the first of the flights chartered by Tennis Australia from seven destinations around the world arrived in Melbourne shortly after 5pm on Thursday.

Players serving quarantine in Victoria will be allowed to spend five hours a day at either Melbourne Park or Albert Reserve practising and training prior to returning to their hotel rooms.

It followed a dramatic day where dual-Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren was allowed to board a flight to Melbourne from Los Angeles despite testing positive to coronavirus.

The American was cleared to travel by health authorities because he is still shedding the virus but is no longer contagious.

Millman said it was possible the Australians still in Sydney or Brisbane could be required to join the international travellers arriving from several points around the world for quarantine in Melbourne or Adelaide. An ATP Tour title winner in Kazakhstan last year, the world No 38 has already served a fortnight of hotel quarantine after returning to Australia in November.

“Unfortunately I might have to go into quarantine again, which would make it a month of quarantine to play the Australian Open,” he said.

“It is not ideal, but everyone else is in a similar situation.”

Another option being explored involves relocating the Australians to Canberra, where they would train for a fortnight in a “green zone” for Victoria before travelling to Melbourne.

That would be preferable to joining the internationals in hotel quarantine but it is not without some challenges in terms of preparation given Canberra is at a higher altitude to Melbourne.

Barty, who remains hopeful of playing in the star-studded exhibition featuring Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in Adelaide at the end of this month, is now training in Melbourne. She has been able to practise on Rod Laver Arena on a couple of occasions already.

This is important as Melbourne Park will soon be closed off to all bar those who are in quarantine at three hotels around the city prior to the commencement of tournament play on February 1.

The Australians based in Victoria will train at Kooyong and courts at a local private school during the fortnight where Melbourne Park is off limits due to quarantine regulations.