Challenger comeback in Todi: "The players want to stay in their 'bubble'"
The ATP Challenger Tour is back! After a five-month forced Corona break and the first WTA tournaments, the men are back on the international tennis circuit again. With the I.CLTK Prague Open By Moneta in the Czech capital and the Internazionali Di Tennis Citta Di Todi, two events will take place this week. We are on site in Umbria and have taken a closer look at the restart.
by Florian Heer from Todi
last edit: Aug 17, 2020, 10:56 pm
The sun burns. The thermometer at the entrance to the tournament shows almost 40 degrees. A few degrees more than your own body temperature. No fever. Access to the event is permitted after a brief infrared test. But not through the official entrance. This is reserved for the players, their companions, the officials and staff of the tournament. Spectators and press representatives have to take a little detour through the extensive grounds of the Tennis Club Todi 1971.
Walk along under shady trees towards the center court. From the stands you can admire the medieval panorama of Todi. The Gothic cathedral Santissima Annunziata sits enthroned on a hill high above the central Tiber valley. A few fields and a lot of green around the tennis court. The grandstands on the long sides of the main square offer space for around 300 people. However, every second seat must be kept free. Here, too, the familiar social distancing takes effect.
On this Monday afternoon, however, there shouldn't be any space problems. Only a few visitors expose themselves to the August heat in the province of Perugia. Italian songs can be heard from the speakers in the neighboring Aqua-Park. One or the other employee also seems to be tempted to hum along. Otherwise, the tournament officials are mostly busy reminding isolated visitors to adjust their mouth and nose protection. It is mandatory to wear a mask on the entire facility.
German trio in Umbria
The protagonists on the square show the joy of being able to stand on the square again. Alongside Yannick Hanfmann and Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Daniel Altmaier is one of three German professionals at the start of the clay court tournament endowed with 88,250 euros. The 21-year-old from Kempen also took part in the national DTB German Pro Series, but considers himself lucky to finally be able to hunt for world ranking points again.
"The national tournament series certainly helped with the preparation," explains Altmaier after his opening success against the Italian Lorenzo Giustino. “I won seven of my eight matches. It's a shame that I didn't get any further due to the sentence ratios. They were great matches against good opponents. It has been a long time since then. That's why I'm now trying to take as much match practice with me as possible. "
Altmaier arrived in a "new reality"
The accompanying circumstances in the "new reality" do not seem to bother the current number 219 in the ATP ranking. “It actually works in a similar way to before. The mask requirement is something else. I think that's very good, though. I am also a player who does not spend much time on the course during the tournament week. Overall, the players are less on the go and don't go to town to eat as often. Everything should run within the framework and it is important to behave correctly within the player community. Crowds should be avoided. "
However, there are no regulations from the ATP, adds Altmaier.
In the Italian bubble
However, participation in the tournament is only possible after a negative Covid-19 test result. “We are tested every five days. It is also in your own interest what you do in your free time, ”says Altmaier, who speaks of a good atmosphere overall and sees travel restrictions as perhaps the greatest hurdle.
“It's complicated, especially for the players who travel outside of Europe. Otherwise, the fields will not change much in the next few weeks when it comes to Trieste and Cordenons within Italy. The players do not want to leave the country and want to stay in their 'bubble'. The line that is driven here is very correct. "