Name: Australian Open 2021: Roberto Bautista-Agut says Victoria hotel quarantine like prison
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Australian Open 2021: Roberto Bautista-Agut says Victoria hotel quarantine like prison

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'These people have no idea': Spanish star Bautista Agut apologises after comparing lockdown to prisonWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementSpanish tennis star Roberto Bautista Agut has apologised after he slammed the Victorian government's handling of the Australian Open quarantine saga, comparing the lockdown to prison.The world No.13 is currently in quarantine ahead of the first grand slam of the year and in an interview with an Israeli news channel, the normally mild-mannered Spaniard slammed the Victorian government.When the journalist conducting the interview pointed out that Bautista Agut looked like he had been in prison, he replied: "It's the same, it's the same. These people have no idea about tennis, about practice courts, no idea about anything."It's a complete disaster because of that, because of the control of everything."While Bautista Agut made a point of directing his anger towards the Victorian government - and not Tennis Australia - the 32-year-old also said he could not imagine having to remain in lockdown for two weeks."You can work in the room but it's not the same. I feel very, very tight and I cannot imagine staying two weeks like this. It's really, really tough. I will have to work a lot mentally."After causing an uproar, Bautista Agut issued an apology."I want to apologise to everyone who has been offended by the video that was posted about me recently," he said."It is a private conversation taken out of context that has unfortunately been released to the media without my knowledge or my consent.Advertisement"Both my coach and I are following the protocols designed by the Australian government and Tennis Australia to avoid any risk and guarantee to compete again in a safe way. These are hard times for athletes and for society in general.'I thank all the people who are making playing tennis again possible. As well as all those who fight against COVID-19 everyday. The management that has been made in Australia to prevent the spread of the virus is admirable."Bautista Agut's harsh comments came hours after TA chief Craig Tiley told the Today show most players are happy with the current quarantine conditions.The Australian Open tournament director spent Monday night on a conference call with more than 500 players."I have to say that on that call, there were about 500 players and the vast majority are happy to be here, pleased to be here and really getting ready to get out and play in the next two weeks the lead-in event and then the Australian Open on February 8," Tiley said."The reports we're seeing don't represent the entire playing group. For the most part, they've been really good."Tiley told players on the call there was "no place to hide" and reminded them there could be further lockdowns if there was a major outbreak before lead-up tournaments begin at the start of February.One of the 500 players was defending Australian Open doubles champion Rajeev Ram.Ram knows Tiley better than most, having played under the TA boss when he was a college coach at Illinois University.While he could think of no administrator better suited to dealing with the chaos that has engulfed the tournament, even Ram could see the situation was "rattling" Tiley."If I'm being honest, he has more on his plate than I think he thought he probably would have, at this point," Ram said on YouTube."Knowing him how I do and knowing him before the rest of the tennis world knew him - or at least before a large part of the rest of the tennis world knew him - there is probably not anyone else in tennis that I know that I would rather have doing this job."That being said, in seeing how it's going through, it's rattling him."If it's rattling him, you know it's a lot. That speaks to the magnitude and the difficulty of the situation."While Ram may be on Tiley's side, Bautista Agut found an ally in Kazakh Yulia Putintseva.The world No. 28 took to Instagram and Twitter to request 10 minutes per day of fresh air.On an Instagram live session hours later, Putintseva also compared life in lockdown to prison."In jail, at least you can breathe fresh air two times a day," she said.Sports, results and expert commentary delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up to the Herald's weekday newsletter and The Age's weekly newsletter .Log in, or to save articles for later. is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Advertisement

'These people have no idea': Spanish star Bautista Agut apologises after comparing lockdown to prisonWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementSpanish tennis star Roberto Bautista Agut has apologised after he slammed the Victorian government's handling of the Australian Open quarantine saga, comparing the lockdown to prison.The world No.13 is currently in quarantine ahead of the first grand slam of...

Australian Open 2021: Roberto Bautista-Agut says Victoria hotel quarantine like prison

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