In view of the deadly bushfires that have engulfed the country in smoke, world no.2 Novak Djokovic has said that postponement of the Australian Open should be considered.
The first Grand Slam of the season is scheduled to begin on January 20 in the city of Melbourne. This, however, has the possibility of endangering the health of the players as Melbourne remains blanketed with thick smoke which is expected to stay until Wednesday.
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The Environment Protection Authority has recorded “very poor” air quality which could result in health problems. The fires have been ravaging the nation for weeks with efforts to control it becoming increasingly tough as they continue to spread. It is such dire conditions of the nation that forced Djokovic, who is the President of the ATP players council, to say:
“I think they’re going to try to do anything to not delay in terms of days and when it starts.…but if it comes down to those (weather) conditions affecting the health of players, I think we should definitely consider it.”
In pursuit of a safer space for the players to play in, Djokovic’s team is in contact with Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley to monitor the worsening air quality in the city as well as in Sydney where the inaugural ATP Cup finals will be played. Further, Djokovic spoke about “some rules” which will be created by Tennis Australia to ensure that the players’ health will not be affected but was ambiguous in his description of the same.
The fires have already affected tennis tournaments in Australia as the Canberra Challenger is now being played in Bendigo due to health concerns of the players. This move was made as conditions were not expected to improve.
Djokovic also donated AUSD 25,000 to Australia’s bushfire relief following Maria Sharapova and Nick Kyrgios’ donation to the same after the latter started a wave of support for the cause.
The ATP players’ council is set to meet prior to the Australian Open and Djokovic said reassuringly that this matter would be on their agenda.
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