Tobias Kamke at the ATP Challenger in Trieste: "Then the magic around it is superfluous"
Tobias Kamke is one of five German players in the main field of the Città di Trieste ATP Challenger, which will be held in Italy this week. The 34-year-old from Lübeck actually failed in the second round of qualification against Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz Garfia , but moved up as a lucky loser due to the withdrawal of Mischa Zverev .
by Florian Heer from Trieste
last edit: Aug 25, 2020, 09:14 pm
His father and coach Alexander Zverev Senior tested positive for COVID-19 as part of the clay court tournament. In an interview after his first round success on Tuesday, about the number 5 Italian Roberto Marcora, Kamke reveals that the implementation of the announced hygiene regulations only convinced him to a limited extent.
Tennisnet: Congratulations on a good start in the main field.
Tobias Kamke: Thank you. I took my second chance today. I felt pretty good during qualification. It's my first tournament on ashes this season. After the long break, I was very happy with my game today.
When did you find out that you had slipped into the main draw?
I knew this relatively early on, as the rule says that if a player or coach tests positive, he will be excluded from the tournament. However, there were still discussions here as to whether this is handled differently from country to country. Regardless of whether he was allowed to play or not, Mischa signaled to me early on that he would feel uncomfortable playing here. He then officially withdrew on Monday at noon.
Is there any information on how Misha's father is doing?
His temperature was elevated for a day, but he showed no symptoms except for a small runny nose. Fortunately, given the circumstances, he is fine. Yesterday both drove back to Monaco by car. We hope, of course, that he will recover completely very soon.
For you it is the first tournament in Trieste since the restart of the ATP Challenger Tour. What are your impressions of the "new normal"?
A lot was announced in advance regarding hygiene regulations and guidelines. However, I am surprised at how loosely the whole thing is laid out. Basically, I have no problem with people walking around the site without a mask, but the spectators sit close together. I heard from Prague last week that things were more or less haywire. That's why I didn't play the first week, so that I could look at everything from a distance. I think that's a shame and also irresponsible, because the virus is there and we have to deal with it in tournament tennis. If it is not adhered to at the beginning, the magic around it is superfluous.
But the players are still being tested?
Yes. Since I played the qualification, I had to take my test on Thursday. However, we were already allowed to train and there were no controls to determine whether someone was using the changing rooms or wearing a mask. If you are still in the tournament on Friday, another test will follow. Otherwise the procedure would be repeated at the next event. Although I had deposited my data, I have not yet received an official result from my test. Neither as SMS, email or anything else. It was stated that you can only return to the system after notification of a negative result.
Many thanks for the assessments and good luck for the future.