'The world is suffering': Rafael Nadal says fellow players whingeing about strict COVID quarantine ahead of Australian Open need a 'reality check'
Rafael Nadal has told other tennis players whingeing about their quarantine conditions ahead of the Australian Open to stop complaining and have a 'wider perspective'.
The world No.2 is only allowed out of his hotel room to train and practice for five hours a day as part of his strict quarantine process in Adelaide.
Victorian authorities have though completely confined another 72 players to their room after positive Covid-19 cases were found on flights that brought them into Australia.
Novak Djokovic last week issued a list of demands calling for the hard quarantine rules to be eased, but Nadal said players should be grateful Australian authorities let them into the country in the first place.
Nadal pictured arriving at Adelaide Airport ahead of the Australian Open on January 14. He has called on other players in quarantine ahead of the tournament to be grateful they were let into Australia at all
About 1,200 international players and officials were given exemptions to enter Australia on charter flights ahead of the shortened tournament scheduled to begin on February 8.
'Of course it is a different situation than usual, but at least we're here,' the Spaniard told CNN on Tuesday when asked what the last two weeks had been like.
'We're going to have the chance to play here, and the world is suffering in general. So we can't complain.
'We only can say thanks to Tennis Australia, to the Australian community, to welcome us and accept us to come, because I know they have been under very strict measures for a lot of months. For us it is good at least that we can keep playing tennis.'
When asked for his thoughts on players complaining about the situation, the Spaniard said his sympathy for the players in hard quarantine only went so far.
'When we came here, we knew the measures are going to be strict because we knew that the country is doing great with the pandemic,' he said.
'You have a little bit wider perspective of what's going on in the world, you have to think and say "well, OK, I am not happy to be 14 days in my own room without having the chance to practice, to go out, to do my normal preparation for a tournament".
Yulia Putintseva, No. 28 in the WTA rankings, last week posted a photo to Instagram of herself holding up a sign that reads: 'We need fresh air to breathe'
Nadal pictured wearing a mask during a French Open match in September. The Spaniard said his sympathy for the players in hard quarantine only went so far
'On the other hand you see how many people are dying around the world - you see how many people are losing their father, their mums, without having the chance to say goodbye.
'It is a real thing. That's what's happening in my country, for example, and close people to me are suffering these situations. So when you see all of this, you have to stay a little bit more positive.'
His response follows a host of locked-down players including women's world 28 Yulia Putintseva lashing out at everything from the food and lack of fresh air to the inability to practice and having to wash their own hair.
Putintseva, No. 28 in the WTA rankings, last week posted a photo to Instagram of herself holding up a sign that reads: 'We need fresh air to breathe'.
Spanish tennis star Roberto Bautista Agut meanwhile compared hard quarantine in Melbourne to 'jail with Wi-Fi'.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic earlier appealed to Open organisers to ease restrictions in a wish list reported on Monday, including a request to shift as many players as possible in Melbourne to private residences with tennis courts.
Djokovic's requests were refused by the Victorian government.
The 33-year-old later defended himself - arguing he had good intentions and wanted to use his 'privilege' to help other competitors who are unable to practice.
Along with the likes of Nadal and Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic is serving his 14-day quarantine in luxury apartments in Adelaide and is allowed to train for five hours a day
'My good intentions for my fellow competitors in Melbourne have been misconstrued as being selfish, difficult, and ungrateful. This couldn't be farther from the truth,' he wrote in an impassioned Instagram post.
In his statement, Djokovic said he 'genuinely cares' about his fellow players and wants to help them.
'It is very difficult for me to be a mere onlooker knowing how much every help, gesture, and good word mattered when I was small and insignificant in the world pecking order,' he wrote.
'Hence I use my position of privilege to be of service as much as I can where and when needed.'
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