The return to normalcy in the world of tennis will have lasted less than a week.
After opening its doors to 30,000 fans a day and rediscovering the sound of a tough Grand Slam tennis tournament, the Australian Open will move behind closed doors from Saturday following the announcement of a five-day closure in Victoria state.
The decision was made in response to a cluster of new cases of Covid-19 in a region that had largely contained the virus and the arrival of new, more contagious variants in Australia. The tournament will continue, indeed, in a bubble similar to last fall’s French Open, with the goal of returning the crowd in time for the women’s semifinals next week.
But the start of the block, which started at 23:59 local time, was so abrupt that Novak Djokovic’s five-set win over Taylor Fritz had to be interrupted in the fourth set. The clock was ticking at midnight and fans had to be introduced.
“I will not waste words: today it hurts. Victorians know, better than anyone, how deeply, “said Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews.” But as we have seen, here in Australia and around the world, we are facing a new kind of enemy. “A smarter, faster and more contagious virus.”