Bubble chaos at the US Open: "A week of deep sleep, then hammer blow
At the US Open , tennis was almost a minor matter in week one: Benoit Paire and the consequences of the "bubble in the bubble" dominated the headlines - and the question: "Who should understand?"
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Sep 06, 2020, 11:53 am
That something bigger was wrong in the Grand Slam bubble of New York was first seen when nothing was to be seen. That was late on Friday afternoon when the start of Alexander Zverev's third round match against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino was inexplicably delayed . First an hour, then two hours. It wasn't until half past four in the evening that Zverev and Mannarino finally stepped onto the pitch with a huge delay, and afterwards it became clear that Mannarino hadn't fought most of all for games, points and the match itself that day, but for permission to step onto the pitch at all to be able to.
A big negotiating poker had taken place behind the US Open scenes, even the world number one Novak Djokovic , recently also a kind of union leader, had stepped in to bring the French onto the court. The professional who belonged to the supposedly eleven-person group who had close contact with the corona-infected Benoit Paire (France) and has only remained in the competition with special status since then.
Compulsory expulsion of Mladenovic
But the climax of the chaotic jumble about corona precautionary measures, special regulations and urgent official orders should still follow. Strictly speaking, this scandal could already be recognized on Saturday night, because the top seeded double Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic (Hungary / France) disappeared from the tournament table - and not because one of the two players was injured or otherwise would have been indisposed. But because Mladenovic was simply no longer allowed to leave her hotel room at the “Long Island Marriott” and commute to the Grand Slam facility in Flushing Meadow. This surprising arrangement - and with it the compulsory exclusion of the double couple - was issued by the health authorities of the Nassau district, in which the unadorned players' hostel is located.
"A week of deep sleep, then hammer blow"
The explosive matter only added to the general confusion in the US Open bubble, and none of those involved, it seemed certain, had done a particularly good job. Above all not the authorities in Nassau, who apparently only realized after almost a week that this tennis tournament called the US Open, which is being watched intensely around the world, could also be of importance to them.
In any case, the officers did nothing for almost seven days before from one hour to the next they forbade anyone who had come into close contact with Paire to leave their hotel room. "A week of deep sleep, then hammer blow," etched the coach of an uninvolved French player. Mannarino, Zverev's third-round opponent, that also became clear in retrospect, only got away with his permission to play because he had already been on the tournament grounds. He could not and should not have played another match, even if he had won against Zverev. Observer Boris Becker called it all “unfair”, “one may, the other not. Who should understand that? "
US Open: Actually a good job, but ...
Not many, no question. But the US-American association USTA as the Grand Slam organizer, in cooperation with the authorities in New York, laid the foundation for the trials and tribulations. Because after Paires positive test, as originally intended in the protocols, a game ban plus quarantine for all contact persons was not ordered. Instead, a so-called “Bubble in the Bubble” was established, a special regulation for professionals like Mannarino and Mladenovic. Although they had to accept additional restrictions on their freedom of movement, they were allowed to continue playing at the US Open. Mladenovic came so involuntarily to a legendary sad appearance , in her second round elimination, she wasted a 6: 1, 5: 1 lead and match points before she lost to the Russian VarVara Gratcheva. Mladenovic later complained that she and the others in the "extra bubble" were treated like "criminals and prisoners": "It's a nightmare."
It remained mysterious why the US Open organizers apparently only concluded this pact on special regulations with the New York authorities, but not with those in Nassau - the seat of the player's hotel. And just as mysterious was why there, in the neighboring district, no one previously insisted on their own competence in this matter. "The US Open actually do a good job with this tournament in the Corona period," says Topmann Djokovic, "but none of this gives a good picture." Mladenovic and Mannarino will now have to stay a little longer in New York, they are not allowed to leave their hotel room until next Friday, not even for training sessions. The time of derogations is over.