Melbourne (AFP)

The first remained away from the circuit for more than a year, sheltered from the pandemic, the second has been for fifteen months: Ashleigh Barty, world No. 1, and Bianca Andreescu, winner of the US Open 2019 before to injure a knee, finally return to competition at the Australian Open, from Monday in Melbourne.

Andreescu's first words at a press conference on Friday bear witness to his long absence: "It's been a really long time," smiled the young Canadian (20 years old), who was world No.4 at the end of 2019 and will be seeded No.8 in Melbourne.

For Barty (24), world No. 1 almost continuously since June 2019, year when she exploded to the highest level by offering herself Roland-Garros and the Masters, the reunion with the competition took place this week.

They are successful: the Australian is in the final of one of the preparatory tournaments for the first Grand Slam of the season, already in Melbourne Park, against Garbine Muguruza.

Before that, his last match was at the end of February 2020, in Doha.

Then the Covid-19 brought world tennis to a halt.

Then when he relaunched in the heart of the summer, Barty preferred caution and did not leave his island-continent, also for lack of adequate preparation.

"I did not see + Tiz + (his trainer Craig Tizzer) for six months, from March to October (the borders between Australian states were closed, note). And when he joined me in Brisbane, he had to pass two weeks in quarantine. We had to adapt, "she says.

- "Super year" -

Barty however retains only the positive of this unprecedented period.

His worst memory?

"Nothing at all. It's been a great year, she says. Of course, I would have loved to play tennis. But it was my decision. I took the opportunity to spend time with my family. on a personal level, nothing bad happened to me in 2020. "

"These last two-three months, seeing that summer was coming, I couldn't wait to play again," she nevertheless admits.

Remained world No. 1 thanks to a WTA ranking adapted to the health crisis, does she feel among the favorites of the Australian Open?

“Yes and no,” Barty replies. “Not having played last year can have consequences, but I have worked well. I feel well prepared and ready to play.”

Even before the virus, it was a tear in the meniscus of the left knee in the fall of 2019 that cut Andreescu in its tracks.

His last match dates back to the Masters 2019, at the end of the season of his revelation, with a coronation at the US Open from his first participation, at the expense of Serena Williams.

"I've been away for more than a year, I've never experienced something like that, most people either," she sums up.

- "Inspired to see me play again" -

Fifteen months later, the Canadian had the misfortune to travel to Melbourne on one of the three flights affected by cases of Covid-19.

It has earned her a fortnight without any authorization to leave, and to postpone her comeback for another week, which she has been preparing for five months.

After "two weeks without training, I didn't want to take the risk of having only one or two days of preparation before a tournament. I was able to do a little fitness, shadow tennis, but it's not not the same, she explains. But I'm healthy, I'm ready. "

How did she manage her strict quarantine?

“Lots of Xboxes, lots of reading, staring at the wall for several minutes a day too,” Andreescu describes.

But not only.

"I watched some of my matches in 2019, and it put me back in the same state of mind, it made me feel the same things. It helped me get back into it. It got me back into it. Inspired to see me playing again, she says. I don't like to do that normally. But I think it made me feel good as I haven't played for so long. I hope it's okay help me bounce back faster. "

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