Melbourne: Roger Federer demanded better communication about air quality at the Australian Open Saturday after smoke from bushfires hit the tournament's build-up, as officials announced new guidelines on pollution. Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion, said a lack of information made matters worse for players who were forced to stay on the courts on Tuesday and Wednesday, when air quality in Melbourne was among the worst on the planet.
Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic was forced to retire during qualifying after a distressing coughing fit, while Britain's Liam Broady claimed "multiple" players needed asthma medication.
"I think communication is key from the tournament to the people, to the media, to the fans, to the players, because you do hear it's not safe to be outside, keep your pets inside, close your windows," Federer said.
"You have court calls, then you look at the haze and everything, it doesn't look good. How far are we from that threshold of playing, not playing?" World number six Stefanos Tsitsipas was another player who was troubled by the smog, saying he had difficulty breathing even after practising indoors in Melbourne.
"I was coughing a lot, had troubles breathing for a couple of hours," Tsitsipas said Saturday, while Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov claimed "I wouldn't play" if conditions deteriorated during the tournament.
"I'm 20 years old, I don't want to risk my life, risk my health being out there playing in this condition," he added.
In the wake of the backlash, Australian Open organisers on Saturday unveiled a five-step air quality rating to determine when play should be halted, based on pollutants measured by monitoring stations throughout Melbourne Park.
Play will be stopped if the particulate matter rating (PM2.5) -- the solid and liquid particles suspended in the air -- hits 200, or five on the air quality scale.
Between 97 and 200, a four rating, will trigger a discussion between medical staff and officials about halting play, with the match referee able to suspend a match if he sees fit. The rules will apply to all outside courts and the Grand Slam's three arenas with retractable roofs, where play will be halted until the roof is closed.
Some players in qualifying questioned why influential stars like Federer didn't do more to speak up on their behalf during the choking haze, but the Swiss great, who is on the ATP player council, insisted he did everything he could.
"What can I do? I can go to the office, speak to them. I went to them the first day when it was bad on Tuesday, the next day on Wednesday when it was still bad," he said.
"I told them, 'Look, I just think communication is key for all of us, for everybody'. We just need to do more because I feel like I hadn't gotten enough information.”
... FROM THE MELBOURNE PARK!
Kyrgios shuts down Zverev in GS row
Australia's Nick Kyrgios dismissed criticism from Alexander Zverev on Saturday after the German said he was a step behind some of his main rivals when it came to challenging for Grand Slams. Zverev said some of the other young players were "just better" than Kyrgios, who provocatively dropped and did push-ups when the world number seven served double faults during Germany's clash with Australia at the ATP Cup.
Prajnesh may run into Djokovic
Indian tennis player Prajnesh Gunnewaran on Saturday sneaked into the Australian Open men's singles main draw as a lucky loser and may run into world number two Novak Djokovic if he clears the first hurdle.The Indian left-hander had lost the final qualifying round to Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in straight sets but was fortunate to make the main draw as one of the direct entrants withdrew from the tournament.
'No regrets' says Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki said Saturday that she has no regrets and it is "the right time" to walk away from tennis with the former number one set to retire after the Australian Open. But the Dane, whose only Grand Slam triumph came in Melbourne in 2018, admitted that she will be "a bit emotional" when the moment finally comes over the next fortnight..
'Passion, Nadal's tips after injury
R afael Nadal said passion and positivity had helped him reach an unprecedented third decade ranked world number one, after defying the ravages of injury and the critics who said his all-action game was too tough on his body. Despite a steady stream of foot, knee, back, arm, hand and wrist injury setbacks, the 33-year-old has returned time and again to become the only player to top the rankings in three different decades.
