MELBOURNE, Nov 18: The political leader of Australia�s Victorian state says despite �incredibly complex� negotiations, he is confident that January�s Australian Open tennis tournament will proceed.
Daniel Andrews, the state�s top lawmaker, on Monday had cast doubts over planning for the season�s first tennis Grand Slam tournament which is scheduled for January 18-31 at Melbourne Park.
Tennis Australia has been hoping for several months that the Victorian and Australian governments would approve a plan for players to start arriving in mid-December and to quarantine in a special training hub with their restricted entourages.
When tennis organisers announced earlier in the week that all regional tune-up tournaments would be moved to Victoria, rather than spread around other Australian capital cities as usual, Andrews reacted by saying that the revised plans were �not a done deal.�
The ATP, the international men�s tennis tour, later issued a memo to its players.
�In discussions with Tennis Australia over the past 24 hours, we have been informed there are some new challenges around the previously planned arrival dates for players and team members,� the ATP said.
�We continue to work with Tennis Australia on confirming plans for January, and we will provide an update as soon as more information is available in the coming days.�
Andrews on Wednesday reiterated his earlier comments on the difficulty of holding the Australian Open in Melbourne. � AP
MELBOURNE, Nov 18: The political leader of Australia�s Victorian state says despite �incredibly complex� negotiations, he is confident that January�s Australian Open tennis tournament will proceed.
Daniel Andrews, the state�s top lawmaker, on Monday had cast doubts over planning for the season�s first tennis Grand Slam tournament which is scheduled for January 18-31 at Melbourne Park.
Tennis Australia has been hoping for several months that the Victorian and Australian governments would approve a plan for players to start arriving in mid-December and to quarantine in a special training hub with their restricted entourages.
When tennis organisers announced earlier in the week that all regional tune-up tournaments would be moved to Victoria, rather than spread around other Australian capital cities as usual, Andrews reacted by saying that the revised plans were �not a done deal.�
The ATP, the international men�s tennis tour, later issued a memo to its players.
�In discussions with Tennis Australia over the past 24 hours, we have been informed there are some new challenges around the previously planned arrival dates for players and team members,� the ATP said.
�We continue to work with Tennis Australia on confirming plans for January, and we will provide an update as soon as more information is available in the coming days.�
Andrews on Wednesday reiterated his earlier comments on the difficulty of holding the Australian Open in Melbourne. � AP
