ATP Player Council President Novak Djokovic has called for Australian Open organizers to "consider delaying the year's opening grand slam event if smoke haze from the bushfire emergency threatens players' health," according to ABC.net.au. Djokovic said that the Player Council "would meet ahead of the tournament to discuss options, including a possible delayed start to the tournament." Djokovic added that his reps had been in contact with Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open Tournament Dir Craig Tiley and had been "monitoring air quality in both Melbourne and Sydney." Players on the ATP are "no strangers to poor air quality in certain tournaments, including the recent events in China." But Djokovic "admits the Australian bushfires may be at another level" (ABC.net.au, 1/6). REUTERS' Nick Mulvenney noted smoke from the blazes has resulted in "hazardous conditions in Sydney, where the final rounds of the inaugural ATP Cup will take place next weekend, and Melbourne, where the year's first tennis Grand Slam gets underway on Jan. 20" (REUTERS, 1/4). Australian tennis officials said that they do "not plan to move any other events." Tiley in a statement said the officials have "committed substantial extra resources" to monitor air quality (N.Y. TIMES, 1/6).
