Top
Rafael Nadal laughing
Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Tennis News

Doubles ace accuses Australian Open of giving Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal unfair advantage


Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, and Novak Djokovic have been given a huge advantage by the Adelaide bubble, says doubles ace Phillip Oswald.

Oswald is one of the players currently forced to self-isolate in their hotel rooms due to a positive coronavirus result on their flight to Australia.

There are more than 50 players in the same boat in Melbourne, but the top three players in the ATP are in a separate bubble in Adelaide as they prepare for a pre-Australian Open exhibition event.

Debate has raged over whether that is an earned privilege or an act of favouritism, but Oswald certainly believes it hands them a massive advantage either way.

“Conditions are much better in Adelaide,” Oswald told Tennisnet. “First, players were allowed to take a lot more staff with them.

“ [Daniil] Medvedev and [Alexander] Zverev, for example, were only allowed to take two people with them, while Thiem, Nadal and Djokovic each came with more.

“They also have a gym in their hotel, so, they don’t have to do their fitness exercises during the five-hour period.

“You only have the five hours to play tennis.”


By
0

Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.