Lockdown in Melbourne - Australian Open from Saturday without spectators?
The Victoria government has announced that it will impose a five-day lockdown from 12:00 p.m. local time on Saturday. The effects on the Australian Open are still unclear.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 12, 2021, 04:08 am
The tennis players should really soak up the atmosphere of matches with spectators on Friday. According to reports from several media outlets, the regional government of Victoria has imposed a five-day lockdown from Saturday midnight local time. According to this information, the Australian Open should be able to continue. However, without a spectator. The reason for this are some corona cases at the Holiday Inn in Melbourne.
This is a scenario that the players already got to know at the US Open 2020 at the Grand Slam level. At that time, all matches were played behind closed doors, only the players themselves and their supervisors and a few officials were allowed to enter the facility in Flushing Meadows.
In Australia, up to 30,000 viewers per day were allowed up to this Friday. Due to various circumstances (no school holidays, no international guests, high ticket prices, Australians be careful) this capacity has not yet been used. Now it looks like there will only be ghost games again until Wednesday.