Sam Querrey has broken silence on his escape from Russia during the St Petersburg Open, saying he did what he felt was right as a father and a husband.
The American player, along with his wife and infant son, had tested positive for Coronavirus during the ATP event in St Petersburg.
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But rather than enter quarantine, the family sneaked out of the player hotel early in the morning on a private plane without informing the tournament oragnisers.
“I had to make a decision between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. the next day,” Querrey told Sports Illustrated in an interview.
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“I had my wife there, and I had my baby there, and as a human decision, I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t feel comfortable with this.’ So we made the decision to charter a plane and leave.”
Querrey said he was ready to quarantine in the tournament hotel for two weeks after testing positive but after two days he was told the doctors would determine if they had to quarantine in a hospital instead.
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The tournament organisers had sent a doctor and a pediatrician to examine the family at the player hotel twice. But both attempts failed as Querrey told them the first time that his son was sleeping and did not answer the door at all the second time.
The American said lack of clarity made it necessary for him, his wife, and their seven-month-old son to fly to London and quarantine at an Airbnb.
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Though the ATP found his conduct ‘contrary to the integrity of the game’ they let him off with a metaphorical rap on the knuckles.
The 33-year-old was given a suspended $20,000 fine, which will be lifted if Querrey does not commit further breaches of health and safety protocols related to COVID-19 within a probationary six-month period.
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