2021 ATP General News

[MargaretMcAleer]

Isn't it already implemented at Wimbledon? On grass since there is no Masters level tourneys I'm wondering if it comes down to expense, ie since they are mostly 250's, one(?) 500. As to clay, I think it's clear by now that the mark left is not all that reliable. .

Hawke Eye Live has been used on some outer courts at Wimbledon,though I have not read to date if it will be used on the main courts in 2021.Yes I imagine it would be expensive,line judges usually do this on a voluntary basis the same as ball kids.
I am still out on clay,using it.So far I have not read it being implemented at Roland Garos in 2021.

 

[Jelenafan]

Hawke Eye Live has been used on some outer courts at Wimbledon,though I have not read to date if it will be used on the main courts in 2021.Yes I imagine it would be expensive,line judges usually do this on a voluntary basis the same as ball kids.
I am still out on clay,using it.So far I have not read it being implemented at Roland Garos in 2021.

Just curious Margaret, why not on board for red clay? Personally, I have seen way too many times through the years where the linesperson /chair gets up and circles the WRONG mark on the clay.

Per the marks themselves

Ball Marks, Not Instant Replays, Are Final Word (Published 2011)

In an era of instant replays, there is an old-world charm to ball marks, imprints of evidence left behind when the ball hits a clay court.

www.nytimes.com

Excerpt:

The problem, though, is that not all ball marks are equal. Lobs create perfectly round spots. Hard serves leave comet-shaped streaks.

Smashes, spins and drops leave variations.
Sometimes there is barely a smudge at all. Sometimes, usually late in a set and near the baseline, the mark cannot be picked from a crowded constellation of blots and footprints. And, hardest of all, sometimes there is only a partial mark near the white line, a phantom left to interpretation.
“Ball-mark inspection is definitely the key point on clay,” said Cedric Mourier, a veteran chair umpire who worked the final last year between Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling. “A lot of people think clay is easy. When everything goes well, it’s easy. But when it doesn’t, it’s tricky.”

After this last year's FO:

No HawkEye at Roland Garros despite calls after Shapovalov incident

The sight of chair umpires ambling down to decide on close line calls at Roland Garros will stay despite growing clamour among players for the introduction of electronic line-calling on clay courts. The French Open is the only one among the four tennis Grand Slams that does not use HawkEye...

www.yahoo.com

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Just curious Margaret, why not on board for red clay? Personally, I have seen way too many times through the years where the linesperson /chair gets up and circles the WRONG mark on the clay.

Per the marks themselves

Ball Marks, Not Instant Replays, Are Final Word (Published 2011)

In an era of instant replays, there is an old-world charm to ball marks, imprints of evidence left behind when the ball hits a clay court.

www.nytimes.com

Excerpt:

Well I have seen the reverse over the years,actually I interviewed a Umpire at a Sydney Tournament a few years back for Tennisnow.com and asked him that very same question about Hawk Eye being used for marks on clay,he was opposed to the idea,
If I can find the interview I will post it.

 

[Jelenafan]

Well I have seen the reverse over the years,actually I interviewed a Umpire at a Sydney Tournament a few years back for Tennisnow.com and asked him that very same question about Hawk Eye being used for marks on clay,he was opposed to the idea,
If I can find the interview I will post it.

Thanks in advance.

I have no illusions about about the infallibility of the Hawk eye system, but to me the larger benefit overall is the reduction of arguments/discomfort level with the players, who have accepted the system on hardcourts as an "impartial" arbitrator, which lets everyone focus more on the actual tennis.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Thanks in advance.

I have no illusions about about the infallibility of the Hawk eye system, but to me the larger benefit overall is the reduction of arguments/discomfort level with the players, who have accepted the system on hardcourts as an "impartial" arbitrator, which lets everyone focus more on the actual tennis.

Here is my question to the Tournament Umpire at Apia tournament,Sydney2017.Mr Bjorn Wettstein,who comes from Germany and has officated orverseas tournaments and currently has moved to Melbourne full time and has officated at the AO.I won't post the whole interview just the one on Hawk Eye on clay.

Q Do you think Hawk Eye could be used for clay tournament's,or are you of the opinion that the ball 'leaves a mark on clay',umpires are used to checking the marks when needed?

Bjorn Wettsetein answer.......

That is probably the best of all questions.The reason we do not use "Hawk Eye' on clay,probably because of the ball mark.You could have a situation where "Hawk Eye" is called,Hawk Eye says the ball was out,you go down to look at the ball mark and it is clearly in.What do you do then? do you turn to "Hawk Eye off? it is tricky,like in everything in life,even Hawk-Eye has a margin of error.As our eyes do too.If we used Hawk Eye on clay that would probably mean we would not be allowed to make any ball mark inspections,even though you can see clearly the ball was out.

 

[Jelenafan]

Here is my question to the Tournament Umpire at Apia tournament,Sydney2017.Mr Bjorn Wettstein,who comes from Germany and has officated orverseas tournaments and currently has moved to Melbourne full time and has officated at the AO.I won't post the whole interview just the one on Hawk Eye on clay.

Q Do you think Hawk Eye could be used for clay tournament's,or are you of the opinion that the ball 'leaves a mark on clay',umpires are used to checking the marks when needed?

Bjorn Wettsetein answer.......

That is probably the best of all questions.The reason we do not use "Hawk Eye' on clay,probably because of the ball mark.You could have a situation where "Hawk Eye" is called,Hawk Eye says the ball was out,you go down to look at the ball mark and it is clearly in.What do you do then? do you turn to "Hawk Eye off? it is tricky,like in everything in life,even Hawk-Eye has a margin of error.As our eyes do too.If we used Hawk Eye on clay that would probably mean we would not be allowed to make any ball mark inspections,even though you can see clearly the ball was out.

Again , thanks Margaret for supplying his statement.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Again , thanks Margaret for supplying his statement.

No worries.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Australian Open main draw ceremony will be held Thursday 4th February time----tba.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Andy Murray has tested positive for COVID-19 and won't be making the trip to Australia

 

[Horsa]

Andy Murray has tested positive for COVID-19 and won't be making the trip to Australia

I'm very sorry to hear that.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I'm very sorry to hear that.

He was hoping he can still make the AO,though all the players have already caught their charter flights to Australia and have arrived in Melbourne or Adelaide,due to the COVID restrictions I very much doubt he will be allowed to come late.

 

[Horsa]

He was hoping he can still make the AO,though all the players have already caught their charter flights to Australia and have arrived in Melbourne or Adelaide,due to the COVID restrictions I very much doubt he will be allowed to come late.

I was going to say I hope he gets well soon...

I hope he manages to do what he wants. The most important thing is his health & that of others. Tennis should come second in my opinion.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Yesterday a flight landed in Melbourne from LAX.2 people tested positive NOT players (like had been reported).All from the aircraft are in hard lockdown.Players were on the flight so those players are confined to their hotel rooms with 14 day quarantine and not allowed 5hr/day practice,like others can.( some of the players on that flight were Santiago Gonzalez,Sloane Stephens,Azarenka,Nishikori,Londero ,Pospisil)

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Saturday 16th January,2021,
Australian Open statement regarding COVID-19 test,

Two positive COVID-19 tests were returned from one of the charter flights into Melbourne in the past 24 hours.
There were 79 people on the flight,including 67 passengers,of which 24 are players.
The two positive tests have been returned by a member of the flight crew and a passenger who is not a player,who returned a negative test 72 hours prior to boarding the flight.
All passengers from the flight are already in quarantine hotels and the two positive cases transferred to a health hotel.
The 24 players on the flight will not be able to leave their hotel rooms for 14 days and until they are medically cleared.They will not be eligible to practise.

Crag Tiley,AO Tournament Director,

"We are communicating with everyone on the flight,and particularly the playing group whose conditions have now changed,to ensure their needs are being catered to as much as possible,and that they are fully appraised of the situation".
"Our thoughts are with the two people who tested positive on the flight and we wish them well for their recovery".

 

[tennisville]

This is such a mess, the event should never have been allowed in Australia given their hard stances

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">. <a href="https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@AustralianOpen</a> <a href="https://t.co/9KhRESagMj">pic.twitter.com/9KhRESagMj</a></p>&mdash; Sorana Cirstea (@sorana_cirstea) <a href="">January 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Moxie]

For anyone with Tennis Channel, they are replaying the 2005 AO SF, Safin d. Federer, if you've never seen it, or want a revisit. Today, 11am EST. One of the great matches of all time.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

This is such a mess, the event should never have been allowed in Australia given their hard stances

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">. <a href="https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@AustralianOpen</a> <a href="https://t.co/9KhRESagMj">pic.twitter.com/9KhRESagMj</a></p>&mdash; Sorana Cirstea (@sorana_cirstea) <a href="">January 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Victorian Government has taken this stance as I have quoted before Tennis Australia had to agree to their protocols,because Victoria had a 'second wave of COVID-19 and had complete lockdown with a curfew.
In Australia we have handled COVID-19 much better I believe than other countries as our numbers have been low and we have taken tough decisions when needed.,unlike other countries in the world that have not had any protocols in place and have had no idea have to handle this pandemic,I am in the medical profession by the way.,taking hard stances is one way of trying to get a handle on this pandemic,I have worked in the ICU with patients struck down with this virus and it is most confronting.Saying this event should not have taken place is Australia because of their 'hard stances' regarding a pandemic is such a uneducated and a unwarranted comment.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

This is the official statement from government regarding quarantine and what is a close contact.....(all states have to abide by these rules that have been put in place during the pandemic).

What is a close contact?

Face to face contact in any setting,with a confirmed or probable case,for 15 minutes or more.This cumulative over the course of one week.It starts from 48 hours before the onset of symptoms in the confirmed or probable case.

You must stay in quarantine for the 14 days to stop the spread of the virus.This is because you may be in the incubation period (the time between getting the virus and showing symptoms). If you leave quarantine before the end of 14 days you may face criminal charges.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Doubles player Artem Sitak affected by the 2 week room confinement acknowledging personal responsibility as well as the larger point about the overall safety of Australia and its COVID response,he also said players were aware of the risks they were taking and the strict rules that were in place.
"We're all deemed close contact.I asked for a bike,so hopefully I'll get one and stay in shape.We'll probably be out on the 29th of January and head straight in the ATP 250 a few days after.
"Obviously not great,but that's the risk we were taking.They kind of warned us this was going to be at the discretion of the Australian government.Australian health authorities if something like this happened.It's just unlucky that two of them contracted the virus".

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

AO Tournament Director Craig Tiley,

"Deternination of who and was and wasn't a close contact was always going to be up to health department,was always a risk,we made it very clear from the beginning-always a risk on the plane that you could be a close contact".responding to a question why the players that tested negative had to go into complete lockdown for 14 days.,when there was positive cases on their flights.
Craig also stated that the 47 players who are in lock down will be supplied exercise equipment to allow them to have some type of fitness in the 14 day period.