Novak Djokovic has fun with the public during an exhibition in Adelaide before the Australian Open, January 29, 2021. -

Michael Errey / AFP

  • The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, kicked off tonight in Melbourne. 

  • While all over the world the closed door has become a habit for many months, this Major will argue in front of 25,000 to 30,000 people every day. 

  • An exceptional gauge, the result of drastic measures taken by the authorities of the state of Victoria - and of the country in general - to eradicate the Covid-19.

Audiences in the aisles, nicely furnished stands, spectators enjoying the matches without having to wear a mask - except on the three main courts when the roof is closed… The Australian Open which opened there is a few hours will do us a lot of good morale, with these images that we have the impression of not having seen for an eternity.

In total, 390,000 people are expected at the tournament site during the fortnight.

The constant threat of a small grain of sand

"It was really great to play again in front of the public, it's been a long time," appreciates Rafael Nadal, who rediscovered this sweet sensation during an exhibition in Adelaide with a few other top names last week.

Seen from home, this unexpected return to the world before is a miracle.

Yet it is quite the opposite.

Tournament boss Craig Tiley has been working hard for eight months.

With the constant threat of a small grain of sand that would screw everything up.

Like last Wednesday, for example.

While everything is in place to eradicate the coronavirus 200 km around so that the tournament can take place, a member of the staff from the Grand Hyatt, one of the three hotels where the players stayed for their quarantine when they arrived on site , has tested positive.

Which forced Tiley to act urgently to avoid the worst.

Too bad for the resentment - and part of the mental health - of the players housed in this hotel, especially those (Benoît Paire for example) who had just come out of two weeks of total isolation in their room because of Covid case on the plane to come.

Everyone had to remain cloistered one more day and go through the test box again.

Relief, two days later.

The 507 people concerned (including 160 players) were all declared negative.

The "incredible sacrifices" of the inhabitants of Victoria

"The probability that one of them is positive was very low," commented the one who is also the president of the federation.

It was an additional precaution to protect the local population.

The big boss of Australian tennis is indeed walking on eggshells.

To succeed in maintaining the first Grand Slam lifting of the year, he had to convince the country's health authorities and the population, who did not want to see the efforts of recent months reduced to nothing by a few sportsmen from around the world.

It was not without difficulty.

"It took eight months of work alongside government authorities and the state of Victoria [where Melbourne is located] to give us the opportunity to organize the tournament," he explained at a current press conference. December.

We want to both make sure players get the best preparation possible and protect the precious Covid-free environment the Victorian community has built through incredible sacrifices, over the past six months.

"

112 days of confinement

These are not empty words.

We must be aware of the efforts made in this country to get rid of the coronavirus.

Last July, the Victoria suffered a second particularly violent epidemic wave.

The local government therefore instituted a general reconfinement until October 28.

That is 112 days locked up at home - a world record - with the army deployed in the streets to ensure that the quarantine measures were respected.

Devastating to jobs and many families.

Another example of the intransigence of the authorities, in Perth (on the west coast), at the end of January, the first case of local transmission was detected in 10 months.

In the next minute, two million people were banned from leaving their homes.

It was with these "swift and firm" responses that Australia brought the epidemic under control.

And some natural assets, too, such as its low density and its geographical location which allowed it to close its borders to foreigners as of last March.

Since then, the different states have also erected watertight barriers between them.

A first since independence in 1901.

We better understand the reluctance of the Australians, who have managed to keep the number of deaths below 1,000, to welcome the world of tennis.

Moreover, the first days were not easy to manage.

The Age

newspaper

reported in early January how residents of the Westin expressed their anger when they learned that their hotel was to be used for the quarantine of the players.

A petition for a last minute injunction in the Supreme Court later, the organization had to come up with a plan B.

We also think of the unfortunate Alizé Cornet, who dared to complain about the strict quarantine imposed on him as on 71 other players after his plane trip.

“Weeks and weeks of practice and hard work are going to be wasted for a Covid positive person on a 3/4 empty plane.

Sorry but this is insane, ”she tweeted.

A few Australians told her that she was very nice but that thousands of them had not been able to return home for almost a year.

Others have put less forms.

The Frenchwoman ended up erasing her messenger and apologizing flatly.

These are just two of the dozen examples.

Discussions have been very turbulent in recent weeks.

They are now covered by the sound of the first hits of the racket.

As long as it lasts for two weeks.

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