BRISBANE, Australia (AP) – Novak Djokovic has voiced concerns about the impact of the devastating wildfires in Australia on tennis’ season-opening major, saying organizers may have to consider delaying the tournament if conditions around Melbourne deteriorate.
Djokovic has won a record seven Australian Open men’s championships at Melbourne Park among his 16 Grand Slam singles titles and will be among the favorites again when the tournament is scheduled to start on Monday, Jan. 20.
But with wildfires raging across large parts of the country, already leaving 23 people dead and 1,500 homes destroyed, air quality has become an issue in cities including Sydney, Melbourne, and the capital, Canberra.
Djokovic opened his season with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) win for Serbia over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson at the ATP Cup in Brisbane on Saturday night and said his own management team had been liaising with Tennis Australia about the impact of the wildfires, particularly in Sydney – where the ATP Cup group stage is underway and where the playoffs and final will be held next week – and in Melbourne.
Djokovic said it was reasonable to consider delaying the start of the tournament because of the extreme conditions “but I think that’s probably the very, very last option for anything.
“I think they’re going to try to do anything to not delay anything in terms of days and when it starts,” he said. “But if it comes down to…those conditions affecting the health of players, I think we should definitely consider it.”
Djokovic said tennis administrators were “obviously tracking the situation every single day as it is evolving.”
“I think they will, if it continues same way and if the quality of air is affected in Melbourne or Sydney, I think Tennis Australia probably will be forced to create some rules about it,” he said. “It’s tough for them because scheduling … has to be respected in terms of play and the Australian Open starts at a certain time, so there’s a lot of different things involved. But health concern is a health concern for me and for anybody.”
