Australian Open boss Craig Tiley is optimistic the grand slam will remain in Melbourne next year despite fears the tournament could be moved overseas.
The federal government’s prediction in last week’s budget of international borders remaining closed until mid-2022 was a worrying development.
Despite an ABC report on Monday identifying Dubai and Doha as potential host cities if the first grand slam of the year is relocated, Tiley is unperturbed.
“We’re talking about two weeks of quarantine and the borders remaining closed until the middle of next year, but I’m an optimist,” Tiley told RSN.
“I think that’s going to be too long.
“I think it’s going to be brought forward because we’re going to get on top of it with the vaccines and how we manage the virus.
“If we don’t, we’re going to be extremely challenged.”
Players would almost certainly be unwilling to enter into quarantine upon arrival in Australia, as they had to do before this year’s Open.
Several players were highly critical of the conditions they experienced in preparation for the tournament.
Novak Djokovic, the undisputed king of Melbourne Park, said during this year’s Open he believed most players would rather see the tennis season cancelled than endure more strict quarantine.
“The players have been travelling around the world in a bubble so there’s no place in the world anymore where there’s quarantine requirements for them and so they’re used to certain conditions,” Tiley said.
‘We (in Australia) still have this 14-day requirement but of course the positive is we don’t have any community transmission of the virus.”
Meanwhile, Australian Grand Prix corporation boss Andrew Westacott is confident about the formula one race going ahead as planned in November.
The Australian GP is slated to be held from November 18-21, after a race in Brazil on November 7.
Westacott dismissed the push for back-to-back races to be held at Albert Park with Brazil battling another deadly outbreak of COVID-19.
“I think the people in Brazil are dead-set on hosting their grand prix two weeks earlier than us,” Westacott told 3AW.
“What isn’t changing at the moment is Brazil will be two weeks before us and then Melbourne will be the 21st of November.”