Coach’s bid to give lockdown players extra time

Coach of former Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka is lobbying for schedule change at Melbourne Park.

Daniel Vallverdu, the coach of 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka, is working on a solution to help quarantined players Picture: Michael Klein

The coach of three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka is working behind the scenes to improve the lot of the Swiss star’s ­rivals who are locked down in a strict quarantine in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.

While the majority of competitors who will feature in tournaments through the first three weeks of February are now practising daily, there are 72 confined to their rooms.

Daniel Vallverdu, who has been working with the 2014 Australian Open champion for the past 18 months, is lobbying for changes to the Australian Open’s schedule to give these players an opportunity to be competitive.

Vallverdu, who is a member of the ATP Tour Players Council as the coaches’ representative, has held discussions with tour and Tennis Australia officials regarding the players’ plight.

He has proposed a later start date for those who are in strict quarantine and unable to practise in order to give them additional time to prepare for the first week of events.

The ATP Cup and two other men’s tour events are due to begin on February 1 and will serve as lead-in events to the Australian Open.

Vallverdu is encouraging officials to delay scheduling matches for those caught in strict quarantine for at least two days.

This would mean those in quarantine, who are expected to be let out of their rooms by next weekend, would play matches on Wednesday. The Venezuelan also proposed scheduling their matches at night to allow them to avoid the heat of the day.

Vallverdu said those caught in quarantine should also be granted additional time to train on the court when released from their hotel rooms.

“It is never going to be perfect. We have to be realistic. But obviously the concept is to try to make it fairer for everybody,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“If you put back their start for two days, that will give them an extra two to three days to prepare.

“It is going to feel awkward for them on the court and they will not feel great physically initially. I have suggested that those guys get preferential treatment and scheduling.”

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley flagged the prospect of tinkering with the tournament schedule on Tuesday.

He has ruled out reducing men’s matches at the Australian Open to best of three sets despite the circumstances.

Should officials decide players might need additional time to practice ahead of the Open, there is a precedent for the opening round of a major to stretch over three days. The French Open starts on a Sunday each year at Roland Garros and the opening round is over three days.

The reasoning behind the ­decision to quarantine every ­person on the three planes that ­arrived in Australia with COVID-19-infected passengers was underscored on Friday.

Spaniard Paula Badosa, who had been a vehement critic of the decision to lock down 72 players and staff because of a handful of positive tests, is now also infected by the virus. Her positive test arose almost a week after the world No 67 arrived in Melbourne from Abu Dhabi.

The timing of Badosa’s positive test means she may be forced to quarantine until almost the eve of the Australian Open, Victoria’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Brett Sutton said.

“It’s certainly proof that the hard quarantine measures were necessary,” he said. “You do need to manage each and every case with a great deal of precaution.”

It is still uncertain how big the crowds attending the Australian Open will be. Tournament director Craig Tiley said recently he was hopeful of Melbourne Park being at 65 per cent capacity.

It is understood ticket sales for the event have been slower than anticipated as fans jostle with the notion of the tournament site being split into three sections.

Those with tickets will only be allowed entry to one of the three sections, which are each ticketed separately.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews would not be drawn on whether capacity would increase if the state’s streak of days without any community cases, which is currently at 16, continues.

“We’re not going to see stadiums that are full,” he said.

“We’re not going to see, if you like, events that essentially ­pretend that this virus is gone because we desperately want it to be.

“We’ve got a process. We look at venues and events on a case-by-case basis and that has served us well.”

Vallverdu, meanwhile, wanted to make clear the majority of the more than 1200 tennis-affiliated people who arrived in Australia are happy with their conditions.

He acknowledged a minority were frustrated, but said he was disappointed that they had complained publicly given the work done to get them to Australia.

“The negative commentary is coming from a minority of players. The vast majority don’t feel like that,” he said.

Anyone for tennis ? 🙄🎾💦☀️🇦🇺 💙 #letsplay #tennis #australianopen pic.twitter.com/VtRKThfIpf

— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) January 21, 2021