|
Players are set to begin arriving in Melbourne
this week for the Grand Slam event and Victoria's state
government has said it is imposing the strongest restrictions
seen at any tennis tournament for the Feb. 8-21 Open.
Players and staff have to isolate for two weeks before they take
part in warmup events at Melbourne Park, which is also the venue
for the Australian Open, from Jan. 31.
There are also restrictions on players' entourages travelling to
Australia which forced Isner, the highest-ranked men's American
player at 25th, to decide to stay at home.
"At this stage of my career and in my life, I always had visions
of being able to travel with my family," Isner, who has a
two-year-old daughter and one-year-old son, told reporters after
his defeat in the Delray Beach Open quarter-finals.
"Of course, that wouldn't be the case for Australia this year.
Understandably so, I get it. It really was just a situation
where I didn't want to be away from my family for that long. I
decided to stay home."
The Dallas resident, who is known for his towering frame and
massive serve, has been ranked as high as number eight in the
world and has won 15 ATP singles titles.
"Me not going to Australia doesn't mean that I’m not committed,
because I still am," Isner added.
"I'm healthy, I feel really good and I'll continue to take care
of my body. Once the tour gets back from Australia, I look
forward to playing as full of a season as I possibly can."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter
Rutherford and Ed Osmond)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
