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Australian Open cluster grows as two more players test positive
It is the latest blow to preparations for the year's first Grand Slam in Melbourne -- which has already be delayed by three weeks due to the pandemic.
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A tennis player waits in his hotel for a training session in Melbourne on January 19, 2021, as players train while quaratining for two weeks ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament. (Agence France-Presse/William West)
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wo more Australian Open players have tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities revealed Wednesday, taking to the number of cases linked to the tennis tournament to 10.
It is the latest blow to preparations for the year's first Grand Slam in Melbourne -- which has already be delayed by three weeks due to the pandemic.
A string of infections detected by Australian authorities have forced 72 players to be confined to their hotel rooms 24 hours a day for two weeks.
Victoria state police minister Lisa Neville said a total of four more people associated with the tournament had tested positive since Tuesday.
"One of those is a player who has absolutely been in hard lockdown because he came in on one of the flights where we had positives," she told reporters.
"One is another player, and one is a support person with that player."
More than 1,000 players and staff arrived in largely coronavirus-free Australia on 17 charter planes last week, with the first cases detected on those flights.
The entire contingent is spending 14 days in hotel quarantine, with players not considered close contacts of positive cases allowed outside to train for up to five hours a day in a biosecurity bubble.
A number of positive results previously announced have been reclassified as non-infectious by health officials, bringing to 10 the total confirmed number of cases linked to the tournament.
The conditions have prompted complaints from several tennis stars, including world number 13 Roberto Bautista Agut who told a TV station that quarantine was like prison "with wifi".
He later issued an apology on Twitter "to everyone who has been offended" by the remarks, saying it was a "private conversation taken out of context".
"I want to thank all the people who are making playing tennis again possible. As well as all those who fight against Covid-19 everyday. The management that has been made in Australia to prevent the spread of the virus is admirable," he tweeted.
Australian media have portrayed the grumbles as spoilt and selfish while locals in host city Melbourne, which emerged from a four-month lockdown in October, have bristled at player demands for special treatment.
However, tournament organizers insist most players accepted their isolation without complaint.
Striving to remain match-fit for lead-up tournaments beginning January 31, many have turned their hotel rooms into makeshift gyms and resorted to hitting tennis balls off hotel walls.
The Australian Open is scheduled to start on February 8.
