Tennis: Kiwi tennis ace Marcus Daniell reveals nerve-wracking journey to be with partner

New Zealand tennis player Marcus Daniell has spent the past decade travelling around the world, but nothing compares to the angst he endured trying to get to America last month to be with his girlfriend.

Daniell who is ranked 49 in the ATP doubles rankings had remained in New Zealand following the Davis Cup tie against Venezuela in Auckland last month. But with the country heading for lockdown and borders rapidly closing everywhere he made the decision to head to Connecticut to be with his partner Caroline.

"It was pretty intense," Daniell said. "I was due to leave on the Sunday of that week and saw things were ramping up and things were starting to shut down pretty quickly.

"So I tried to get an earlier flight and ended up getting one for the evening of the Thursday and New Zealand went into lockdown at midnight on Wednesday. I was freaking out that I wouldn't be able to get the flight."

Daniell headed to the airport to try to change his flight at the desk on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the lockdown began.

"But they wouldn't let me into the airport if I didn't have a ticket that was departing that day. So I had to go back home and then take it on faith that the flight would leave. But luckily enough it did.

"However, it was disturbingly full and was absolutely crammed and there were a few people coughing around me which wasn't much fun. But I got over to the States and managed to link up with my girlfriend and we went into isolation after that."

The 30-year-old says while the guidelines are the same, they are much less strict at enforcing the lockdown in the US.

"We were pretty serious at enforcing it so we went into a house by ourselves for the full 14 days and didn't go anywhere other than walks and that sort of thing and that ended a few days ago and we moved in with her parents just down the road.

"So now there are four of us in the bubble and a dog and this is going to be the situation for the next couple of weeks at least. We're trying to figure out whether we can come back over to New Zealand."

The tennis tour is effectively shut down until late July at the earliest and like everyone else Daniell has had to adapt.

"In some way it's lucky I picked up a bit of an injury during the Davis Cup last month which has been slow to heal so I've been making use of the time off to let my arm heal up as much as I can. I am looking to start on court next week."

Marcus Daniell. Photo / Photosport

In New Zealand, tennis is banned under lockdown level 4 due to the risk of players handling the same balls and Daniell admits that's a concern.

"I'm hoping to be able to access a private school outdoor hardcourts. There's a guy in this town who coached another top doubles player and so I should be able to hit some balls but have to be super careful about it. The balls themselves could transfer the virus so maybe it's just a matter of only the coach handling the balls.

"Other than that, I have been doing a lot of fitness rehab and that sort of stuff because I'm the sort of person that goes a bit stir crazy if I'm not moving my body somehow. I'm a little lucky in a sense that I'm doing some study at the moment. I'm doing a Masters in philosophy so I've got something I can do and I've signed up for a bunch of other online courses so I'm trying to keep my brain engaged."

Daniell says the ATP has been in regular contact with the players, but he can't see professional tennis resuming in July as planned.

"At this point I know as much as you and at least until post-Wimbledon we are done. I struggle to see how the French Open is going to stay in the dates that they've chosen."

The French Federation moved the clay court Grand Slam from its May/June slot to a September 20th start, just a week after the US Open is due to finish in New York.

"You need more than a week to prepare on a clay court after playing on hardcourts and to play five-set matches it's a different toll on the body so any one of those top guys who really thinks they have a chance of winning the US Open is not going to be thinking if I win the US Open I've got a shot at the French. That's just not going to happen.

"For all of those top guys there has to be more of a gap between the U.S. and the French. There has to be at least two weeks. That's the bare minimum so I think the French will have to postpone at least another week."

Despite all the uncertainty and tournament dates constantly changing, Daniell is optimistic there will be some professional tennis this year.

"I imagine players will be more than happy to play through to Christmas this year with so much down time and the only way we can make money outside of the guys who have big endorsement deals is being on court laying tournaments so there is that concern for all of us.

"But obviously the first thing is the tournaments have to be safe and it's a struggle to see how a tournament that could bring in thousands of spectators throughout a week could plan to be safe at this time or even in a couple of months' time so I just don't know what the future is going to look like."