Petra Kvitova: "Everyone knew the risks of these Australian Open"

Petra Kvitova is one of those lucky tennis players who is able to train in these weeks. In an interview with Tennis Majors, the Czech tennis player makes an analysis of the situation highlighting the complicated reality they are experiencing.

She said: "To be honest, I was one of the luckiest, since at least I can go out for a few hours a day to train on the track. I spent many hours working in the preseason, so now I have a little more time to relax, in fact I'm enjoying my free time a lot. I watch series, drink coffee, read books, etc. Of course I also have to do fitness, so I still have a lot to do." 

The conditions are difficult for everyone, ans she added: "The controls are very strict from day one, everyone was very scared when the news about the airplanes came out, which is understandable. You can only open the door to your room when food is brought to you.

Now gradually things are calming down, everything is much calmer. We still can't see anyone in person, but we talk to each other on the phone. Even if we meet someone on the bus, we keep a safe distance. We disinfect our hands like five times before entering the field, in this sense everything is very rigid, but you have to understand how important it is to do so."

The difficult conditions of tennis players in Melbourne

About the 72 players in isolation she commented: "I am always present at Craig Tilye's calls on Zoom, they are the first to know what the players think and how they feel. The frustration of isolated tennis players is understandable, but we have to live with it. I know I'm not in the same situation, but Tennis Australia is trying to help them by providing them with equipment, weights or bikes. We all knew that such a thing could happen, a 14-day quarantine, but we all thought we would be lucky and could play."

Five hours of freedom seems enough for Petra Kvitova: "The truth is that five a day is enough. I train for an hour and a half, including warm-up, at most 1 hour and 40 minutes. It's OK for me. Then I'm in the gym for another hour and a half at the most. I understand that there are players for whom it seems little time, but I am already 30 years old and I need to protect my body a little more. We have to value all this, in the world there are thousands of people who are losing their jobs, so I am grateful that we can continue to compete."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Mx93us