Pity the new Australian Open tournament director, Craig Tiley. With less than a week to go before the first Grand Slam of the year gets under way, Tiley had his first taste of the annual rush of injury scares and sick notes that threatens to undermine the tournament before a ball has been struck.
Rafael Nadal gave Tiley greatest reason to worry after retiring from the Sydney International warm-up event with tightness in his groin. Having missed the Australian Open through a foot injury a year ago, the Spaniard has repeatedly said how desperate he is to play in Melbourne, so it would be a blow if the world number two is stopped from competing this year.
Nadal, who began to feel discomfort on the long flight to Australia from Chennai, where he played last week, has until Monday to get himself fit. No doubt Tiley will grant him extra rest days if he needs them, but that may not be enough.
”When I woke up this morning I didn’t feel very well, but I try on court,” said the 20-year-old, whose first-round match against Australian wild-card Chris Guccione was nearing the end of the first set when he retired.
”I hope in two more days it will be 100% because I want to play in the Australian Open for sure. I need more matches and I need to get my rhythm.”
Nadal was one of four retirees in Sydney this week. Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan was the other man to call it a day after suffering a wrist injury. The women’s second seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, retired with a respiratory infection and the fourth seed Nadia Petrova pulled out with an abdominal injury sustained at the Hopman Cup in Perth last week.
There has been speculation about whether Venus Williams will play next week after she missed the Hopman Cup with a wrist problem, while the world number one, Justine Henin-Hardenne, has pulled out of the Australian Open to deal with ”personal” problems believed to stem from the breakdown of her marriage.
To add to Tiley’s concerns, Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt cited a calf injury when he pulled out of the Sydney event following a split from his coach Roger Rasheed last Friday. His fitness to compete in Melbourne is uncertain.
At least Roger Federer appears to be his usual serene self. This week he sat front and centre in a line-up of stars that included Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian, Ivan Ljubicic and British number one Andy Murray, the latter looking jet-lagged and slightly bemused to find himself flanked by some of the world’s best players.
Being paraded before the Melbourne television cameras did not appear to faze Federer and Roddick at the launch of the Kooyong Classic, but Murray is still getting used to being made a fuss of.
But having reached the final in Doha last week, he is up to number 15 in the rankings and deserves to be counted in such company.
”I got told that 10 of the last 12 winners of the Australian Open have played here, so it can’t get any better than that,” said Murray, glancing along at his fellow players. ”I feel like I’ve prepared pretty well. I played well last week and I feel good.”
Murray and the other seven competitors in the Kooyong field are guaranteed three matches as part of a round-robin format, though the results are largely irrelevant to all concerned.
Indeed, with temperatures forecast to rise into the high 30s in Melbourne in the coming days, Murray and the rest would be well advised to take things easy. For the sake of the Australian Open, Tiley, for one, will be sincerely hoping they do. — Â