No compulsory quarantine for Novak Djokovic & others traveling from USA to Rome
The ATP tour is all set to resume at the end of this month, with the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open in New York. Fans across the world will finally get to see Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and others in action for the first time since March, when the tour was suspended owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A month and a half ago, the ATP had announced the revised schedule for the 2020 men's tour. Since then, however, tournaments like the Citi Open in Washington and the Madrid Masters have been cancelled due to the health situation in the respective regions.
That leaves only the US Open, the Rome Masters and the French Open as the big events on the calendar.
There were previously doubts over these remaining big tournaments as well, as the European Union requires compulsory quarantine for arrivals from the United States. That was causing Novak Djokovic & Co a lot of headaches, and it was even being reported that the entire top 20 would boycott the USO if the quarantine rules were not relaxed.
However, the problem seems all but solved now with a new order by the Prime Minister of Italy. The order reportedly states that no quarantine will be needed for players coming into the Rome Masters from the New York Slam.
Novak Djokovic & Co will just need a negative COVID-19 test to play the Rome Masters
In what was previously a huge issue on the tour, Novak Djokovic and his fellow players - who were planning to be at Flushing Meadows for the US Open - would have to be in quarantine for two weeks on their return to Europe. And given the crunched ATP schedule, those who went deep in New York wouldn't have been able to take part in the Rome Masters.
With the US Open slated to end on 13 September, a top draw like Novak Djokovic would have found it tough to get on-board with the EU's quarantine rules. The Serb's misgivings over the restrictions were particularly relevant given that he is expected to be slugging it out at the Arthur Ashe Stadium until the last days of the Open.
The problem has since been alleviated by the recent Prime Ministerial Decree on 7 August. According to Article 1, paragraph (i) of the decree, athletes coming from countries for which quarantine has been mandated will only need a swab of a negative COVID-19 test - not earlier than 48 hours after arrival in Italy - to participate in an event.
It is no secret that World No. 1 Novak Djokovic's chances of adding an 18th Major to his trophy cabinet will be high at the US Open. And with Rome no longer requiring the players to be in quarantine before starting their campaigns, Djokovic can now fully focus on his participation at Flushing Meadows without worrying about the Masters tournament to follow.