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  • ATP Cup.Spain says goodbye to Italy in the semifinals

At this point, on the eve of the start of the Australian Open, the normal thing would be to reflect on the possibility that

Rafael Nadal

surpasses the 20 greats of

Roger Federer

or on the new challenge of

Serena Williams

to achieve, at last, equal the 24

majors

by

Margaret Court

.

By now, in fact, we should already have the answers instead of asking the questions, because under normal conditions, like those still enjoyed a year ago, the tournament would have already concluded.

The first major of the course begins in Melbourne in the early hours of Monday even with the heated debate about the class distinction that has existed among tennis players when facing the quarantine required by the Australian Government and under the constant concern imposed by the pandemic.

Just look back at last Wednesday, when the positive of an employee of a Melbourne hotel where many tennis players were staying led to the immediate cancellation of the tournaments in dispute, which were resumed the next day once their contacts had been rigorously tracked.

"Everything has been too forced. If you take stock, the result is wrong. Displacing so many people here was not an essential necessity," says

José Perlas

,

Dusan Lajovic's

coach,

over the phone from Melbourne

.

"Professionals are deeply rooted in living from sensations. The court, the temperature, the ball, everything requires a process of adaptation. This is precisely why they are used to being flexible, but this is out of any pattern."

Lajovic, 26th, belongs to the vast majority of the players who endured the quarantine in Melbourne, in conditions very different from those of

Djokovic

, Nadal,

Thiem

, Serena,

Halep

or

Osaka

, who spent it in Adelaide, subject to fewer restrictions, without the limit of a single companion and with better possibilities to train.

Best of three sets matches should be played

Marc boada

"It is a high-level competition and the players have not been able to prepare well. The way to combat the pandemic is outstanding in Australia, but the conditions for tennis are different," explains

Marc Boada

,

Andrey Rublev's

physiotherapist

to this newspaper.

, eighth of the ranking.

"It has been an abnormal preparation. The preseason loads are cut in half. The tournament should have been adapted to the circumstances, with best-of-three sets or solutions in that direction. You work three hours a day to compete five."

Social support

The exceptional nature of the situation also implies a greater emotional demand for the players.

"It is logical that they have a bad time, with concerns added to those of the competition itself, such as their personal safety. Although there is little risk for them, unexpected things can happen. Social support is important, that they can express their fears and concerns. Those who do not travel with someone can do so

online

", says

José Manuel Beirán

, specialist in sports psychology and Olympic silver with the Spanish basketball team at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

The United States Open and Roland Garros have already been played under the scourge of the pandemic, in circumstances very different from the usual ones, but without the protagonists having to undergo a quarantine period.

"Each tennis player, each coach, has their method and their hours of work. Here they have organized it for you, and those who have made the decisions, in general, have been unprofessional. Sometimes you left the club at 10 in the night and the next day they were waiting for you at seven in the morning. Out of 11 training sessions, six have been indoors, and some of them on sloppy courts, which have nothing to do with those where the tournament will be held " , explains Perlas, without ceasing to express his gratitude for the dedication of the organizers and the Australian authorities.

Each tennis player, each coach, has his method.

Here they have organized it for you, and those who have made the decisions, in general, have been unprofessional

Jose Perlas

If usually, being the first major tournament of the season, played under extremely high temperatures, injuries have always proliferated at the Australian Open, this time the risk is even greater.

"They cut your wings. We have hardly been able to do quality work. They told us the night before which gym we could go to. In some there were weights, in others not," says Boada.

In principle, in a country practically free of coronavirus,

30,000 daily spectators

will be allowed

into the venue

, an unusual circumstance in sport since the pandemic broke out.

"Even if there is less public, it will be similar, because people are quite close. Tennis players, after all, as happens in football and basketball, can compete, and they seek creative solutions to difficulties. Worse. Certain athletes, gymnasts, swimmers have it, who may have spent four years preparing for the Olympic Games and are exposed to higher levels of frustration, "says Beirán.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Rafael Nadal

  • Novak Djokovic

  • tennis

  • Australian Open

  • Roland Garros

  • US Open

  • Covid 19

ATP CupThe virus gives a truce and allows tournaments to resume

TennisRafa Nadal starts the year with victory ... in an enclosure full of public without masks

TennisNadal's message to Djokovic: "Some need to make public what they do to help"

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