Novak Djokovic: Delay The Start of the Australian Open Tennis Tournament?

[+ WilliamM]

Novak Djokovic, President of the ATP Player Council, says organizers of The Australian Open Tennis Tournament in Melbourne may have to consider delaying the start of the two-week event which begins on January 20, 2020.

 

Novak has won the gland slam tournament seven times, said:

 

"It's probably the very, very last option. [but] if it comes down to the conditions affecting the health of the players you have to consider it."

 

It would be quite difficult to reschedule a grand slam tennis event, but perhaps mandatory for an out door event, The air quality from brush fires would affect the tennis fans and sponsors who fly to Australia from all over the world.

[+ Charlie]

Trying to reschedule a two week major tournament would be a nightmare for almost everyone concerned, given the rigidity of the entire world tennis schedule for the year. Unless a national emergency is declared by the government, it is unlikely to happen. Probably the only way to reschedule would be to move it to the end of the year, when it used to be played, but that would mean playing the 2020 and 2021 tournaments only about one month apart. More likely is that it would be like the 2016 Rio Olympics, where many individuals chose to pull out because of worry about the conditions in Rio, but the event went on as scheduled without them.

[BSR]

Trying to reschedule a two week major tournament would be a nightmare for almost everyone concerned, given the rigidity of the entire world tennis schedule for the year. Unless a national emergency is declared by the government, it is unlikely to happen. Probably the only way to reschedule would be to move it to the end of the year, when it used to be played, but that would mean playing the 2020 and 2021 tournaments only about one month apart. More likely is that it would be like the 2016 Rio Olympics, where many individuals chose to pull out because of worry about the conditions in Rio, but the event went on as scheduled without them.

 

Spot on. Any delay would ruin the tournaments scheduled during the new AO dates. Plus who knows how long the wildfires will continue? What if it's rescheduled yet the air quality is just as bad if not worse? Double disaster.

 

The AO is unique in that the venue features three retractable-roof stadiums. If air quality is an issue, they could always beef up their air filtration systems (an expensive but feasible fix) and close the roofs. Of course, this would give an enormous advantage to the top-ranked players who are always scheduled to play on the big show courts. Lower-ranked players would complain, with good cause, but that is a better solution than canceling the event altogether.

 

Tennis Australia depends on the Australian Open for most of their budget. The four Slams are incredibly lucrative businesses that generate tens of $millions for their respective tennis federations. Tennis Australia uses the profits for tennis development, especially the training of juniors and players just starting out who can't afford the staggering costs of coaching, fitness training, and travel. Without the revenue of the 2020 AO, Tennis Australia would be devastated.

[+ WilliamM]

Trying to reschedule a two week major tournament would be a nightmare for almost everyone concerned, given the rigidity of the entire world tennis schedule for the year. Unless a national emergency is declared by the government, it is unlikely to happen. Probably the only way to reschedule would be to move it to the end of the year, when it used to be played, but that would mean playing the 2020 and 2021 tournaments only about one month apart. More likely is that it would be like the 2016 Rio Olympics, where many individuals chose to pull out because of worry about the conditions in Rio, but the event went on as scheduled without them.

 

Novak leads male tennis players in winning the Australia Open. He is speaking about something that will happen if the air quality doesn't

significantly improve in the next two weeks.

 

This tournament is known as the most relaxing of the grand slams for the players and the audience. If they play tennis in conditions close to right now, it would result it would be a disaster.

[+ WilliamM]

Spot on. Any delay would ruin the tournaments scheduled during the new AO dates. Plus who knows how long the wildfires will continue? What if it's rescheduled yet the air quality is just as bad if not worse? Double disaster.

 

The AO is unique in that the venue features three retractable-roof stadiums. If air quality is an issue, they could always beef up their air filtration systems (an expensive but feasible fix) and close the roofs. Of course, this would give an enormous advantage to the top-ranked players who are always scheduled to play on the big show courts. Lower-ranked players would complain, with good cause, but that is a better solution than canceling the event altogether.

 

Tennis Australia depends on the Australian Open for most of their budget. The four Slams are incredibly lucrative businesses that generate tens of $millions for their respective tennis federations. Tennis Australia uses the profits for tennis development, especially the training of juniors and players just starting out who can't afford the staggering costs of coaching, fitness training, and travel. Without the revenue of the 2020 AO, Tennis Australia would be devastated.

 

Ok. There is much more involved than just the safer courts with retractable roofs. The tennis venue is located a short distance from Melbourne down town. . I attended the tournament in the 1990s. Players and everyone else have to travel the relatively short distance back and forth to and from downtown Melbourne.

 

If the conditions remain the same near Melbourne, the concern is the health of everyone, not just Novak and the other top seeds, male and female. It is good that Melbourne is a much smaller city than the other grand slam cities. The world will not end if the Tournament is rescheduled.

[BSR]

Ok. There is much more involved than just the safer courts with retractable roofs. The tennis venue is located a short distance from Melbourne down town. . I attended the tournament in the 1990s. Players and everyone else have to travel the relatively short distance back and forth to and from downtown Melbourne.

 

If the conditions remain the same near Melbourne, the concern is the health of everyone, not just Novak and the other top seeds, male and female. It is good that Melbourne is a much smaller city than the other grand slam cities. The world will not end if the Tournament is rescheduled.

 

True enough, fans might very well stay home. Since most of the assigned-seating tickets are already sold, Tennis Australia might not lose that much revenue, although they would suffer a fan backlash if they refused to refund unused tickets. They'll cross that bridge when they come to it.

 

But fan attendance won't affect TV revenue because those contracts are already set. While I don't know the specifics of the AO budget, it's probably safe to assume that the revenue from TV rights is substantial. Even if the stands are somewhat empty, all matches on the 3 big show courts will be played and broadcast, which is all the TV outlets need. Even in adverse conditions, Tennis Australia will be able to salvage most of their anticipated revenue.

 

As much as all tennis professionals are fastidious about their health, Novak is particularly so. He strictly follows an all-organic vegan diet, for example. But if anyone think he's skipping this year's Australian, they're crazy. He, along with fellow Big 3 Rafa & Roger, will play wearing a gas mask if need be. My guess is the same is true of the "Big 3"* women - Serena, Naomi Osaka, and Bianca Andreescu.

 

* In quotes because the concept of Big Three of men's tennis is well-established; women's side not so much.

Edited January 6, 2020 by BSR

[MassageDrew]

There is a huge impact to reschedule a grand slam. There are smaller events happening every week. To push a 2-week event will have a drastic impact on those smaller ones. The grand slams have tremendous $$ so they can absorb to reschedule. I don't think they can afford to reschedule these smaller events.

[+ WilliamM]

There is a huge impact to reschedule a grand slam. There are smaller events happening every week. To push a 2-week event will have a drastic impact on those smaller ones. The grand slams have tremendous $$ so they can absorb to reschedule. I don't think they can afford to reschedule these smaller events.

 

 

I have been negligent in not paying enough attention to the anger at the current government for the apocalypse Ike broadcasts documenting conditions in New South Wales.

 

If the conditions remain the same, or almost the same, I would suggest saving and protection of humans, animal, and least important property is far more important than the Australian Open Tennis Tournament

[BSR]

I have been negligent in not paying enough attention to the anger at the current government for the apocalypse Ike broadcasts documenting conditions in New South Wales.

 

If the conditions remain the same, or almost the same, I would suggest saving and protection of humans, animal, and least important property is far more important than the Australian Open Tennis Tournament

 

Hold the phone! Lets wait to see just how bad conditions are in Melbourne 15 days from now. Qualifying starts on the 14th, the main draw starts on the 20th. Worst case, qualifying could be relocated to another location with better air quality. Moving the qualies would be expensive and cumbersome, but feasible. Obviously the main draw cannot be moved.

 

Something just occurred to me. I hate to say this since I'm such a die-hard Novak fan, but I have to wonder if Novak's talk of delaying the tournament isn't just some gamesmanship on his part. Compared to Rafa & Roger, Novak struggles far more with outdoor conditions because he wilts in the heat and goes bonkers in the wind. When the head of the players' council and a 7-time AO champion talks, Tennis Australia listens. If Novak can spook Tennis Australia into closing the roofs, his odds of an eighth trophy increase substantially.

[+ Autumnal]

I'm usually very controlled in my response to anything on this site, but with people dying, countless homes being destroyed, hundreds of thousands of animals being killed, why would anyone worry about the Australian Open Tennis Tournament?

[BSR]

I'm usually very controlled in my response to anything on this site, but with people dying, countless homes being destroyed, hundreds of thousands of animals being killed, why would anyone worry about the Australian Open Tennis Tournament?

 

Because life goes on, even in the face of disaster. The ATP has shown its concern for the tragedy by running a fundraiser to help. Since I don't follow the WTA side as closely, I don't know what they're doing.

 

Brits are stalwart believers in a couple of principles related to this issue: stiff upper lip and getting on with it. I can't imagine anything short of WWIII interfering with Wimbledon. @mike carey can speak to this issue far better, but my guess is that Aussies are very much forged of the same steel. They will carry on in the face of adversity. I know that the inaugural ATP Cup is currently being played without skipping a beat in Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane.

[+ WilliamM]

Hold the phone! Lets wait to see just how bad conditions are in Melbourne 15 days from now. Qualifying starts on the 14th, the main draw starts on the 20th. Worst case, qualifying could be relocated to another location with better air quality. Moving the qualies would be expensive and cumbersome, but feasible. Obviously the main draw cannot be moved.

 

Something just occurred to me. I hate to say this since I'm such a die-hard Novak fan, but I have to wonder if Novak's talk of delaying the tournament isn't just some gamesmanship on his part. Compared to Rafa & Roger, Novak struggles far more with outdoor conditions because he wilts in the heat and goes bonkers in the wind. When the head of the players' council and a 7-time AO champion talks, Tennis Australia listens. If Novak can spook Tennis Australia into closing the roofs, his odds of an eighth trophy increase substantially.

 

Novak Djokovic has willed himself into the same league with Federer and Nadal.

 

He is speaking for tennis now, not just himself.

 

I hope he comes down on postponing the tournament.

[+ Autumnal]

Novak Djokovic has willed himself into the same league with Federer and Nadal.

 

He is speaking for tennis now, not just himself.

 

I hope he comes down on postponing the tournament.

This picture is worth more than 1,000 words. Thanks for posting it.

[mike carey]

Brits are stalwart believers in a couple of principles related to this issue: stiff upper lip and getting on with it. I can't imagine anything short of WWIII interfering with Wimbledon. @mike carey can speak to this issue far better, but my guess is that Aussies are very much forged of the same steel. They will carry on in the face of adversity. I know that the inaugural ATP Cup is currently being played without skipping a beat in Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane.

I think we're more likely to 'get on with things' but not to pretend nothing was happening (stiff upper lip can be more like the latter) . You're right, the ATP Cup is underway and of the three cities Sydney is the only one that is smoke-affected, and worse so than Melbourne. I don't think that the smoke will be a serious health issue in Melbourne, prevailing winds are from the west and the fires are mostly east of Melbourne, so I think Novak is raising the issue or as we would say 'trying it on' to see what the reaction might be. As you mentioned, it's still two weeks off. In contrast, the lead up tournament that was to be played in Canberra was moved to Bendigo, a couple of hours from Melbourne. Canberra has the worst air quality in the world at the moment.

[+ WilliamM]

New York Times

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/sports/Australian-Open-fire.html

 

As Fires Spread, So Do Player Concerns Ahead of the Australian Open

 

 

 

 

 

By Ben Rothenberg

• Jan. 6, 2020Updated 4:34 p.m. ET
  
• 
  

BRISBANE, Australia — The start of the Australian Open is now less than two weeks away, and the wildfires ravaging the country’s southeast have forced the relocation of a second-tier men’s tennis tournament and stirred concern that the first Grand Slam tournament of the year could also be disrupted.

 

With at least 25 people killed and hundreds of homes lost in the fires, and winds blowing smoke toward several large metropolitan areas, including Melbourne, the site of the Open, tennis has become an afterthought instead of maintaining its usual status as a centerpiece of the Australian summer.

 

Calling its decision “unprecedented,” Tennis Australia on Friday announced the relocation of the Canberra International, which was scheduled to begin on Monday in the Australian capital. The event was moved nearly 400 miles southwest to Bendigo, a town in Victoria about two hours northwest of Melbourne. The air quality in Canberra has been rated the worst of any major city in the world and was deemed too poor even for the tournament to be held indoors.

 

 

 

Liam Broady, a British player ranked 240th, was one of more than 100 players who had planned to start the 2020 tennis season at the Challenger event in Canberra. When he arrived, he found the city streets largely empty and the sun unable to pierce the thick ash in the air, making it dark in the late afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Conditions in Melbourne, host of the Open, fluctuated last week, reaching their worst on Friday when the city was downwind of the East Gippsland fire. Shifting winds have sometimes carried smoke from nearby fires into the city.

 

Denis Kudla, an American player who trained in Melbourne on Friday before heading to Bendigo, said he could not inhale or exhale fully without coughing during his practice session.

 

“If it’s anything like yesterday, I don’t think it would be safe over a two-, three-week period,” Kudla said of potential conditions for the Australian Open. “You could play, but who knows what damage we’re actually causing to ourselves? It can’t be good.”

Two weeks of main draw play in the Australian Open are scheduled to begin on Jan. 20, with the tournament’s qualifying rounds starting a week earlier.

 

 

 

Novak Djokovic, a seven-time Australian Open champion and the president of the ATP player council, said Saturday that he planned to put air quality considerations on the agenda for the pretournament player meeting in Melbourne. The topic has come up before, related to playing amid air pollution in China.

 

“If it continues the same way and if the quality of air is affected in Melbourne or Sydney, I think Tennis Australia probably will be forced to, I think, create some rules about it,” Djokovic said.

 

Tennis officials in Australia have said they do not plan to move any other events, but they have “committed substantial extra resources” to monitor the air quality, Craig Tiley, the Australian Open tournament director and Tennis Australia chief executive, said in a statement over the weekend.

 

“Assessing the likelihood of smoke-induced interruptions is a bit like how we treat heat and rain,” Tiley added. “We have experts who analyze all available live data as specific to our sites as possible and consult regularly with tournament officials and, in the case of heat and smoke, medical experts.”

 

He continued: “The health of players, fans and staff is a priority at all times and we will continue to make these decisions with that in mind.”

 

Sydney is the most affected city hosting tennis this week. The ATP Cup, a new team competition, began on Friday with round-robin play in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. The knockout rounds will shift to Sydney on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

Tim Henman, the captain of the British team in the competition, played down the impact on his players “in the context of what this country is going through.”

 

The effect on cities is largely dependent on which way the wind is blowing. With unfavorable winds on Friday, the conditions were bad enough to set off smoke detectors at AAMI Park in Melbourne, where a soccer match between Melbourne City and Western United was played as scheduled.

 

Western United Coach Mark Rudan said afterward that he thought the game should have been postponed because of the smoke.

“Some of the players came back into the rooms and said they struggled to breathe, felt it down their throat and lungs,” Rudan told The Herald Sun in Melbourne. “But clearly there’s rules and the doctors know what’s safe and what isn’t. It was testing conditions; I commend both sets of players.”

 

Tennis could prove tougher: A 90-minute soccer game is often less than half the length of a match at the Australian Open, particularly on the men’s side, where matches are best-of-five sets. In 2012, the men’s final between Djokovic and Rafael Nadal lasted 5 hours 53 minutes.

 

“Nothing has ever been close to postponing or canceling a Slam, so this is going to be a tough decision, naturally,” Kudla said. “But if the smoke gets worse, I couldn’t imagine potentially playing a four-, five-hour match and not coughing like crazy postmatch trying to recover and feeling awful.”

 

As players and organizers wait to see if the air quality in Australia deteriorates further, relief efforts have begun within the tennis community. “The inordinate loss of people, wildlife, stock, homes, schools and businesses is going to require an extraordinarily widespread effort to get these families and communities back on their feet,” Tiley said. “Our aim is for tennis to play a significant role where we can to help that recovery.”

 

 

IA]

 

 

Tennis Australia is organizing a charity exhibition match on Jan. 15 in Melbourne and donating $100 for every ace hit during the Australian summer to the Australian Red Cross.

 

The aces initiative follows the lead of the Australian star Nick Kyrgios, a Canberra native, who pledged $200 to relief efforts for each ace he hits, a gesture since matched by many other players. In his victory over Jan-Lennard Struff in his first ATP Cup match on Friday in Brisbane, Kyrgios hit 20 aces.

 

“It’s tough to go out there and concentrate on tennis, to be honest,” said Kyrgios, whose mother, Norlaila, remains in Canberra. “Every ace I was hitting, that’s all I was thinking about. Every time I stepped up to the line, that’s all I was thinking about.”

 

Sydney this weekend

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by WilliamM

[+ WilliamM]

I think Novak is raising the issue or as we would say 'trying it on' to see what the reaction might be.

 

He is doing more than "trying it out"

 

It is possible the tournament may be a significant health hazard to players and everyone else.

[+ WilliamM]

Ordinarily, I wouldn't get involved, but I attended the tournament in the 1990s

 

Nineteen ninety five I believe. Superb, more enjoyable than the French Open and almost as good as the US Open.

Edited January 7, 2020 by WilliamM

[mike carey]

It is possible the tournament may be a significant health hazard to players and everyone else.

Quite so, the point I was making in my post is that at this remove from the tournament itself it's not possible to know, and that based on experience so far the health hazard although possibly present in Melbourne, by then may not be 'significant'. Novak may have been raising his concerns, as you suggest, in case the hazard to tournament play turns out to be significant. As I mentioned earlier, organisers here have been proactive in reorganising schedules to mitigate hazards. He may also have hoped for an early decision from the AO organisers, such as closing court rooves, that may have been to his advantage.

[mike carey]

It is possible the tournament may be a significant health hazard to players and everyone else.

Quite so, the point I was making in my post is that at this remove from the tournament itself it's not possible to know, and that based on experience so far the health hazard although possibly present in Melbourne, by then may not be 'significant'. Novak may have been raising his concerns, as you suggest, in case the hazard to tournament play turns out to be significant. As I mentioned earlier, organisers here have been proactive in reorganising schedules to mitigate hazards. He may also have hoped for an early decision from the AO organisers, such as closing court rooves, that may have been to his advantage.

[+ WilliamM]

Quite so, the point I was making in my post is that at this remove from the tournament itself it's not possible to know, and that based on experience so far the health hazard although possibly present in Melbourne, by then may not be 'significant'. Novak may have been raising his concerns, as you suggest, in case the hazard to tournament play turns out to be significant. As I mentioned earlier, organisers here have been proactive in reorganising schedules to mitigate hazards. He may also have hoped for an early decision from the AO organisers, such as closing court rooves, that may have been to his advantage.

 

I am in no way questioning Australian ability to deal with unpredictable and tragic weather. I was there during the1998 Sydney to Hobart boat race.

[+ WilliamM]

Quite so, the point I was making in my post is that at this remove from the tournament itself it's not possible to know, and that based on experience so far the health hazard although possibly present in Melbourne, by then may not be 'significant'. Novak may have been raising his concerns, as you suggest, in case the hazard to tournament play turns out to be significant. As I mentioned earlier, organisers here have been proactive in reorganising schedules to mitigate hazards. He may also have hoped for an early decision from the AO organisers, such as closing court rooves, that may have been to his advantage.

 

I am in no way questioning Australian ability to deal with unpredictable and tragic weather. I was there during the1998 Sydney to Hobart boat race.

[+ WilliamM]

I am not suggesting Novak or anyone else is involved with Murdock

 

 

NEWS ANALYSIS

How Rupert Murdoch Is Influencing Australia’s Bushfire Debate

Critics see a concerted effort to shift blame, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/world/australia/fires-murdoch-disinformation.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage

 

 

By Damien Cave

• Jan. 8, 2020Updated 5:49 p.m. ET
  
• 
  
  • 
    

WOMBEYAN CAVES, Australia — Deep in the burning forests south of Sydney this week, volunteer firefighters were clearing a track through the woods, hoping to hold back a nearby blaze, when one of them shouted over the crunching of bulldozers.

 

“Don’t take photos of any trees coming down,” he said. “The greenies will get a hold of it, and it’ll all be over.”

 

The idea that “greenies” or environmentalists would oppose measures to prevent fires from ravaging homes and lives is simply false. But the comment reflects a narrative that’s been promoted for months by conservative Australian media outlets, especially the influential newspapers and television stations owned by Rupert Murdoch.

 

And it’s far from the only Murdoch-fueled claim making the rounds. His standard-bearing national newspaper, The Australian, has also repeatedly argued that this year’s fires are no worse than those of the past — not true, scientists say, noting that 12 million acres have burned so far, with 2019 alone scorching more of New South Wales than the previous 15 years combined.

 

 

 

And on Wednesday, Mr. Murdoch’s News Corp, the largest media company in Australia, was found to be part of another wave of misinformation. An independent study found online bots and trolls exaggerating the role of arson in the fires, at the same time that an article in The Australian making similar assertions became the most popular offering on the newspaper’s website.

It’s all part of what critics see as a relentless effort led by the powerful media outlet to do what it has also done in the United States and Britain — shift blame to the left, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change.

“It’s really reckless and extremely harmful,” said Joëlle Gergis, an award-winning climate scientist at the Australian National University. “It’s insidious because it grows. Once you plant those seeds of doubt, it stops an important conversation from taking place.”

 

 

 

I

News Corp denied playing such a role. “Our coverage has recognized Australia is having a conversation about climate change and how to respond to it,” the company said in an email. “The role of arsonists and policies that may have contributed to the spread of fire are, however, legitimate stories to report in the public interest.”

 

 

 

Yet, for many critics, the Murdoch approach suddenly looks dangerous. They are increasingly connecting News Corp to the spread of misinformation and the government’s lackluster response to the fires. They argue that the company and the coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison are responsible — together, as a team — for the failure to protect a country that scientists say is more vulnerable to climate change than any other developed nation.

 

r.

 

In late December, the Oz, as the News Corp-owned paper is known here, heavily promoted an interview with the government’s energy minister, Angus Taylor, warning that “top-down” pressure from the United Nations to address climate change would fail — followed by an opinion piece from Mr. Taylor on New Year’s Eve.

 

Other News Corp outlets followed a similar playbook. Melbourne’s Herald Sun, for example, pushed news of the bushfires to Page 4 on New Year’s Eve, even as they threatened to devastate towns nearby and push thick smoke into the city.

Days later, residents in a town nearly flattened by the fires

during a visit to assess the damage. A new hire for Mr. Murdoch’s Sky News channel, Chris Smith, branded them “ferals” — slang for unkempt country hobos.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/nyregion/metropolitan-diary.html?algo=bandit-story-geo&fellback=false&imp_id=507158257&imp_id=493724626&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article®ion=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/business/work-friend-office-cupcakes.html?algo=bandit-story-geo&fellback=false&imp_id=261397732&imp_id=152840737&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article®ion=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending

 

 

 

 

 

 

As is often the case at Murdoch outlets around the world, there have been exceptions to the company line — an article about the Australian golfer Greg Norman’s declaration that “there is climate change taking place”; an interview with an international expert who explained why this year’s fires are unique.

 

 

 

But a search for “climate change” in the main Murdoch outlets mostly yields stories condemning protesters who demand more aggressive action from the government; editorials arguing against “radical climate change policy”; and opinion columns emphasizing the need for more backburning to control fires — if only the left-wing greenies would allow it to happen.

The Australian Greens party has made clear that it supports such hazard-reduction burns, issuing a statement online saying so.

Climate scientists do acknowledge that there is room for improvement when it comes to burning the branches and dead trees on the ground that can fuel fires. But they also say that no amount of preventive burning will offset the impact of rising temperatures that accelerate evaporation, dry out land and make already-arid Australia a tinderbox.

Even fire officials report that most of the off-season burns they want to do are hindered not by land-use laws but by weather — including the lengthier fire season and more extreme precipitation in winter that scientists attribute to climate change.

Still, the Murdoch outlets continue to resist. “On a dry continent prone to deadly bushfires for centuries, fuel reduction through controlled burning is vital,” said an editorial published Thursday in The Australian. It went on to add: “Changes to climate change policy, however, would have no immediate impact on bushfires” — a stance that fits hand in glove with government officials’ frequent dismissals of the “bogey man of climate change.”

 

 

 

I

 

 

 

 

Timothy Graham, a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology who conducted the study of Twitter accounts exaggerating the role of arson in Australia’s fires, said media companies also needed to be cognizant of the disinformation ecosystem and stop contributing to the problem. That includes mainstream outlets, like ABC News, sharing inaccurate maps that exaggerate the reach of the fires.

 

But in the case of the arson issue, he said, scores of bots and trolls — many of which previously posted support for President Trump — have joined conservative media like the Murdoch outlets in promoting the idea that Australia’s fires are not a “climate emergency” but an “arson emergency.”

“Maybe 3 to 5 percent of fires could be attributed to arson, that’s what scientists tell us — nevertheless, media outlets, especially those that tend to be partisan, jump on that,” Dr. Graham said.

y

.

[MEDIA=twitter]1214677210474266625[/MEDIA]

 

 

Of course, it is often hard to know just how much influence any media company has. Gerard Henderson, a columnist for The Australian, said he didn’t think there was much need to address climate change because it was already a focal point across the rest of the media.

[BSR]

Quite so, the point I was making in my post is that at this remove from the tournament itself it's not possible to know, and that based on experience so far the health hazard although possibly present in Melbourne, by then may not be 'significant'. Novak may have been raising his concerns, as you suggest, in case the hazard to tournament play turns out to be significant. As I mentioned earlier, organisers here have been proactive in reorganising schedules to mitigate hazards. He may also have hoped for an early decision from the AO organisers, such as closing court rooves, that may have been to his advantage.

 

I can't post the tweet here because it's a copy of a reply, but from the official Australian Open account, tournament officials stated that in the unlikely event that the smoke precludes outdoor play, they will close the 3 roofs and schedule play on the 8 indoor courts. Since the indoor courts have very limited seating, the AO will lose ticket revenue but the tournament will be played, come what may. The lion's share of ticket revenue comes from the 3 show courts in any case.

 

For any tennis geeks out there, can you name another player in the men's singles draw who will benefit more from closing the roofs than Novak? If they close the roofs, Roger & Rafa fans will be furious.

[+ WilliamM]

I can't post the tweet here because it's a copy of a reply, but from the official Australian Open account, tournament officials stated that in the unlikely event that the smoke precludes outdoor play, they will close the 3 roofs and schedule play on the 8 indoor courts. Since the indoor courts have very limited seating, the AO will lose ticket revenue but the tournament will be played, come what may. The lion's share of ticket revenue comes from the 3 show courts in any case.

 

For any tennis geeks out there, can you name another player in the men's singles draw who will benefit more from closing the roofs than Novak? If they close the roofs, Roger & Rafa fans will be furious.

 

As much as a like Novak Djokovic, if the air conditions mean using the indoor courts only or even partly, just cancel the tournament. The players, coaches, sponsors and fans are still in Melbourne, dealing with horrid conditions. Yes, Melbourne is a wonderful place to be stuck, however, so there is that .

[BSR]

Poor to the point of hazardous air quality was a problem for some players on the first day of qualifying. One player, Dalila Jakupovic from Slovenia, even retired during her match because of a coughing fit. The AO and Tennis Australia claim that they are monitoring the problem but did not get more specific. Air quality is expected to improve for tomorrow.

 

A few issues: Jakupovic complained that qualifiers are in an impossible position. If they refuse to play because of air quality, they get fined. Qualifiers, the minor leaguers of tennis, simply cannot afford a fine. And as Noah Rubin (a Challenger-level player of some prominence because of his widely read blog) points out, one has to wonder if Tennis Australia would force top-ranked players to play in such conditions.

 

For those not so familiar with the sport, tennis has its royalty (Serena and the three gents with double-digit Slams: Roger, Rafa & Novak), nobility (top-ranked players or former Slam champions, like Maria Sharapova), and serfs (lower-ranked players, especially those ranked too low for direct entry, thus having to qualify). When royalty speaks, the sport of tennis grinds to a halt. When nobility speaks, the powers-that-be will listen but don't always take heed. When serfs speak, well, you can imagine.

 

Novak is in Melbourne now but probably resting since he played to exhaustion during the just-concluded ATP Cup in Sydney (preliminary rounds were also played in Brisbane & Perth). When he hits the practice courts in a couple of days, let's see what he has to say about playing conditions.