Six events halted over single new case

MELBOURNE • Up to 600 players and support staff connected to the Australian Open will have to isolate until they have been tested for Covid-19, after a hotel quarantine worker at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne returned a positive result for the virus yesterday.

In response, Victoria state has reintroduced mask mandates and restrictions on gatherings from 30 to 15 people, after 28 days without a locally transmitted case.

Play at the six warm-up events for the Grand Slam at Melbourne Park has been heavily disrupted, with organisers Tennis Australia cancelling all matches today.

"Those associated with the AO who quarantined at the hotel now need to be tested and isolate until they receive a negative test result," a statement read.

"There will be no matches at Melbourne Park on Thursday. An update on the schedule for Friday will be announced later."

But Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews insisted the case should not impact the Australian Open itself, which starts on Monday.

"There is a number of about 500, 600 people who are players and officials and others who are casual contacts," he said. "They will be isolating until they get a negative test and that work will be done tomorrow."

Nick Kyrgios, who defeated fellow Australian Harry Bourchier yesterday to reach the last 16 of the Murray River Open tune-up event, had earlier expressed his bewilderment, tweeting: "Am I playing tomorrow?"

About 1,200 players, coaching staff and officials arrived in Australia at the middle of last month for the year's first Major, going straight into a mandatory 14-day isolation.

The players were allowed five hours outside for training but 72 of them were confined to their hotel rooms for the two weeks after passengers on their chartered flight tested positive for the coronavirus.

Participants in the Open were given the green light to begin exiting quarantine from the end of last week, although Spanish women's player Paula Badosa remains in isolation due to her positive test.

In the ATP Cup, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas opened their seasons with fighting wins yesterday as they warm up for the Open, while Italy and Russia became the first teams into the semi-finals.

Seventh-ranked Zverev had to dig deep to overcome Canadian danger man Denis Shapovalov 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) and seal the Group A tie for Germany.

But he gained valuable court time ahead of another crack at a first Slam trophy at the Open.

Zverev, who fell agonisingly short in the US Open final last year to world No. 3 Dominic Thiem, said having his brother Mischa as team captain had helped him and "it's just great to have him here".

Tsitsipas was also forced to work hard by Australian Alex de Minaur, who won the ATP Tour's season-opening Antalya Open last month, eventually triumphing 6-3, 7-5.

However, Greece lost 2-1 overall to the host nation in Group B.

Italy followed up their opening victory over Austria by beating France to advance, while Russia, the only team to have two top-10 players in Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, also moved on to the semis after proving too strong for Japan.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS