Millman pleads for ‘flexible quarantine’ in Melbourne

Aussie John Millman believes many players around the world can’t grasp how successful Australia’s COVID battle has been but has called for flexibility around any quarantine plans ahead of the Australian Open in January.

Millman is halfway through a 14-day quarantine in Sydney after returning home from Europe.

And the new ATP Player Council member has become a key player in talks with Tennis Australia, advising that a hard lockdown with no ability to train or practise would be impossible.

“You just can’t do a two-week hard lockdown to get ready for an Australian Open,” Millman told the Sydney Morning Herald.

” I don’t think any of the international players would do that. Your body is what pays the bills. You are an injury risk, you can’t go from zero to 100 right away, that’s the biggest risk.”

Millman said that if the government decided they couldn’t take the risk, the tournament probably won’t go ahead.

“That’s how I see it. With a hard lockdown, I just don’t see how the players would buy into that after what they have been exposed to for much of the year and how tennis works if we had to go down that path,” he said.

“I’m not pessimistic and I understand the complexities of it all. You get to really understand how quarantine works when you are inside it.

“It’s very strict and I know if I had to pick up a racquet right now and go and play tennis, I’d be absolute rubbish. I’d probably injure myself.”