Australian Open, ATP Cup and Co .: "Australian Summer" completely in Victoria?
According to Australian Open boss Craig Tiley, the tennis tournaments in Australia are now to take place entirely in the state of Victoria, home of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Nov 16, 2020, 10:10 am
This is reported by the Australian newspaper / website heraldsun.com.au . Tournament director Craig Tiley: "The big news is that we are putting everything on one horse and that is Victoria. Because this is where the Australian Open is taking place." When it comes to viewers, Tiley plans to have at least 25 percent occupancy.
The suffering tournaments around Adelaide, Brisbane and Hobart confirmed the Herald Sun's report via Twitter.
According to Tiley, it is envisaged that all players will travel directly to Melbourne and quarantine there for two weeks instead of being distributed throughout Australia.
It is also planned, according to Tiley, that the tournaments would be rescheduled in advance. Means: Australian tournaments could also take place after the Australian Open.
Victoria's Prime Minister Andrews: "Not all settled yet"
However, everything does not seem to be set in stone, as Victoria's Prime Minister Daniel Andrews announced to theage.com.au . Andrews called Tiley's statements "pretty speculative." "The message is that everything is fixed, that all these tennis players suddenly appear. But it's not fixed yet." You work very hard to get to this point. "I am not criticizing the story (...), but hopefully not everyone thinks that everything is cleared up. But we are in."
Of course the Australian Open is an important event, said Andrews, "but avoiding a third wave is probably even more important."
What will happen to the ATP Cup?
What the whole thing means for the ATP Cup also seems unclear - including whether it will take place at all. According to the Canadian website opencourt.ca , this would probably be reduced to 8 teams (instead of 18) if it was played. The question also arises as to what will happen to the tournaments that are planned in the qualifying week of the Australian Open - if in doubt, other facilities, such as the one in Kooyong, the former venue of the Australian Open, would have to be considered. An invitation tournament has been held here in the run-up to Melbourne for years, but this has already been canceled.