Kei Nishikori speaks on Melbourne quarantine

Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori acknowledged that being in a two-week isolation will not be easy but noted that he is giving his best to stay positive and in good spirits. 

Over 70 players were placed in quarantine ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne. 

"I'm now in 14-day isolation in a hotel room, that I have never experienced before. It's nothing but a risk to play matches after having two weeks w/o practice, but it can't be helped, I'm just trying to spend days positively," Nishikori said on his app, as revealed by Seiadoumogera/Twitter. 

"Before coming here, I had really great practice session. First I trained w/ Max in Florida, then moved to California to train w/ Michael on his private court. I was feeling really well, my shoulder was getting well, I played points & sets there until the day before a travel day."

Nishikori doing some work inside his hotel room 

Players had to get creative and several players posted videos of them practicing inside their hotel rooms.

"Fortunately I'm not feeling much jet lag now, but I kind of lose track of how many days have passed. I'm trying to get some exercise indoor and watch tennis videos including my matches to keep a sense of playing tennis," Nishikori revealed.

"It can cause low back pain to spend all day sitting down, so sometimes I eat meals standing up, walk around my room, do some footwork training, or make a practice swing to avoid that. 

"Overall I'm fine. take care, guys!"

Nishikori, a former world No. 4, has made four quarterfinals at Melbourne Park. 

In 2019,, the Japanese made the Australian Open quarterfinal before retiring to Novak Djokovic.

Last year, Nishikori skipped the Australian Open.

Meanwhile, German Dominik Koepfer said the conditions inside the Melbourne quarantine are not that bad.

"The top players have advantages in Melbourne as well. [...] Some have a connecting door so they can see their physio. I have my own room, my coach is in the next room; so I can't see him. For me personally, it's totally okay... For other players, who would have liked to bring more people with them, it is of course strange that their request was not considered; while e.g. Kevin Anderson comes with 6 people and his nanny. Then some players feel a bit disadvantaged, which you can understand," Koepfer said, as revealed by insidetennis99/Twitter.

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