At New York. In camera. Safe from the coronavirus? It was in unprecedented conditions dictated by the pandemic that the world’s tennis elite returned to competition on Saturday, the Cincinnati tournament serving as a life-size test before the US Open.
The atmosphere will be special on and around the New York courts.
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It is a big bet that the American Tennis Federation (USTA) is trying to take up, by making one after another the Masters 1000 / Premier Mandatory and the Grand Slam tournament (August 31-September 13), within ” a single sanitary bubble set up in Flushing Meadows.
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Long threatened by the Covid-19, still so galloping in the United States, these two most important meetings of the summer hard season have been maintained by the body, driven by three guiding principles.
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Financial interest
“1 / Can we organize these tournaments in a healthy and safe environment for everyone? 2 / Is it in the best interest of tennis? 3 / Does it make financial sense for the players, the USTA and more broadly for the tennis ecosystem? To these three questions, the answer continues to be yes, ”assured his boss Mike Dowse on Tuesday.
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At the same time, it announced a first positive case in the bubble. Which turned out to be that of a physical trainer and which resulted in the withdrawal from the men’s table of the Cincinnati tournament of Argentinian Guido Pella and Bolivian Hugo Dellien, having been “in close contact” with him.
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Monitored distance
Although they tested negative, this decision results from the safety protocol established under the guidance of the New York State Department of Health. Players will be tested again several times during their fortnight, hoping to participate in the US Open.
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“We performed 1,400 tests. Mathematically, we expected to have one positive case, if not more. So we have planned for that and we have put in place a very specific protocol to avoid propagation, ”assured Michael Dowse.
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The next few days will tell if this plan works. As such, the USTA has for example planned to exclude any player (or a person in his entourage) who would venture out of the bubble. Only exceptional written authorization will allow it.
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“We performed 1,400 tests. Mathematically, we expected to have one positive case, if not more. ”
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To keep the day-to-day running smoothly, forty members of staff will monitor the courts to ensure players and others meet distancing standards and wear masks.
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The changing rooms at Arthur Ashe Stadium which can normally accommodate up to 300 people will be limited to 30 at a time and only accessible to players, for approximately 15 minutes maximum. Massage tables will be placed outside. As for the boxes, which will not be a source of income this year, behind closed doors, they will be awarded to the 32 male and female seeds.
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Djokovic “at home”
The vast majority of players will be accommodated on Long Island, 30 km east of Flushing Meadows, in two hotels requisitioned by the USTA, where everything has been done to accommodate them (golf simulator, game rooms and gym, giant screens to watch the matches …). They will make their round trips to Flushing Meadows, not in individual cars, but in buses filled to 50% of their capacity.
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Eight players, including Novak Djokovic, have nevertheless obtained from the USTA the right to rent a house at their expense, for which they must also pay for 24-hour surveillance.
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On this point, the Serbian world No. 1 managed to relax conditions that he had deemed too restrictive, threatening not to come to New York to play the US Open.
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“Nole” will obviously also be the man to beat at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, where he also intends to gain playing time and sensations since he is also involved in doubles. His rivals are Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, defending champion in Cincinnati and finalist last year in the US Open, while Andy Murray will try to return to the top level again.
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On the women’s side, Serena Williams will try to win a third title there, with the Czech Karolina Pliskova, winner in 2016, and the Americans Madison Keys, title holder, or Sofia Kenin, winner of the Australian Open in beginning of the year.
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(AFP)
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