Tennis players stuck in isolation in their Melbourne hotel rooms will not be given any special treatment, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has said.
A total of 72 players are enduring 14 days of strict quarantine following positive coronavirus tests returned by passengers on three of the charter flights that arrived in the country last week ahead of the Australian Open.
Andrews was asked about a series of requests reportedly made by Novak Djokovic to help those players, including a reduction in the time spent in isolation, permission to see coaches and moving athletes to private houses with practice facilities.
Djokovic set up a player association separate to the ATP last summer and has made improving the lot of athletes within the sport a major goal.
The list received short shrift from Andrews, though, who told local media at a press conference: "People are free to provide a list of demands. But the answer is no. The virus doesn't treat you specially, so neither do we.
"I know that there's been a bit of chatter from a number of players about the rules. Well, the rules apply to them as they apply to everybody else, and they were all briefed on that before they came.
"That was the condition on which they came. There's no special treatment here."
Australian media also reported that there have been four more positive tests among people who arrived on the charter flights, including one player.
Those players who are allowed to practise began to hit the courts on Monday, but that process was not smooth either, with several players waiting for a call that never came.
World No 5 Elina Svitolina, Australia's Alex De Minaur and British star Katie Boulter were among those who posted on social media about the delays.
Over the last few days, various players have been posting images of themselves on social media finding different ways of exercising form the relative comforts of their hotel room.
Russian player Yulia Putintseva posted a video of herself playing shots against the wall, while Briton's Johanna Konta was pictured doing stretching exercises, stating: "Let the hotel workouts begin!"
Heather Watson, another British player, produced a speeded-up video of herself taking a five kilometre run by completing hundreds of lengths of her room.
There have been notably fewer posts from players complaining about their situation, which went down like a lead balloon in a city that endured one of the world's strictest lockdowns, but Bernard Tomic's girlfriend Vanessa Sierra has been ridiculed for a YouTube video about their quarantine experience.
In it, Sierra, who appeared on the Australian Love Island television show, complains about the food supplied by the hotel and says her biggest concern is having to wash her own hair rather than visit the salon twice a week.
Nick Kyrgios took to Twitter to comment on the situation in a typically blunt message, writing: "Djokovic is a tool. I don't mind Bernie but his Mrs obviously has no perspective, ridiculous scenes."
Gordon Reid, Britain's two-time men's wheelchair Grand Slam champion, is among the players confined to his room and says it is a "minority that are kicking up a fuss".
"But the majority of the time that minority are the loudest," the Scot added.
The view from The National
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
