Mask at the on-court interview? - Christian Harrison refuses and has to pay a fine
Christian Harrison has to pay a fine of $ 3,000. The American had waived the same thing in Delray Beach due to the mask requirement during the on-court interview.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Jan 12, 2021, 08:33 pm
Christian Harrison did not always have it easy in his career: The American had to undergo a total of eight operations and, not least because of this, never lived up to his reputation as a top talent. The now 26-year-old is currently only 789th in the ATP world rankings, but at the 250 tournament in Delray Beach he finally seems to be opening the button.
After victories over Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Cristian Garin and Gianluca Mager, the qualifier is in the semi-finals in Florida - and yet Harrison is not all to be happy. Because the American has to pay a fine of 3,000 US dollars after refusing an on-court interview.
"Not healthy" - Harrison justifies decision
What happened? After his success over top-seeded Garin in the second round, Harrison was supposed to give an on-court interview. Due to the mask requirement, the 26-year-old waived it and immediately disappeared into the catacombs. "It's not healthy to wear a mask longer than necessary under the hot sun after a tough match," said Harrison, explaining his decision on Instagram.
He also got the impression that conducting the on-court interview was voluntary: "I was not told that I would get a sentence." This is exactly what the ATP said after the match. Reason enough for Harrison to see the supervisor the next day.
Harrison will protest
"I was told that I can protest the penalty and it will then expire because I was not told that it (the interview, note) was mandatory. If nothing changes, I think that's true," said the world ranking 789th, who partially disagreed with the Corona measures in Delray Beach.
"It's not about safety if you do an interview with a microphone for television and no one is around you. I don't support people having to wear a mask just for the sake of it," said Harrison, who after his Quarter-final success over Mager, however, wore an MNS protection and at the same time emphasized to follow all rules in tournaments despite possible differences of opinion.