Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley confirms Greek player COVID-19 negative before leaving Australia

Australian Open boss Craig Tiley Sunday confirmed Michail Pervolarakis tested negative to Covid-19 before he left Melbourne after the Greek player set off alarm bells by returning a positive result on arrival in South Africa. Pervolarakis played singles and doubles in the ATP Cup, a warm-up for the Australian Open, before travelling from Australia to South Africa via the Middle East. “I am completely asymptomatic at the moment and will have to quarantine in an isolation facility in Potchefstroom,” Pervolarakis wrote on Instagram. A later post said he had been advised by a nurse that he likely contracted the virus on the plane or during a stopover on Doha. Tiley said all relevant information had been passed to health authorities in Australia on Saturday. “While there’s a link in the fact he left here, on the ninth (of February), five days ago, it’s going to be really up to the advice of the health authorities, like we’ve done every single day,” he told broadcaster Channel Nine. “We just provide them the information and then they provide advice and make decisions. “The good news for us is he tested (negative) and then left, before he tested positive,” he added, while playing down any concern for world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was in the same Greek team as Pervolarakis at the ATP Cup. “There’s a fair bit of time and travel time. And of course, he’s travelling to most of the hot spots of the world and the chances of becoming infected in those hot spots is fairly high.” The Australian Open has endured significant disruption because of Covid-19, and started three weeks late to allow international players to quarantine. On Saturday, fans were barred and players went into a biosecure “bubble” as Victoria state’s six million residents began a snap, five-day lockdown after an outbreak at an airport hotel.