Timea Babos after disqualification: "Sit crying in the kitchen"
On Friday it became apparent that there would still be problems with the contact persons from Benoit Paire . The next day Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos were taken out of the doubles competition as number one in the tournament. Now Babos reacts to the events - and does not spare criticism of the organizers.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Sep 07, 2020, 04:15 pm
When it slowly became clear on Friday evening that it was "political problems" that had postponed the start of the third round duel between Alexander Zverev and Adrian Mannarino for hours, it was also clear that this will probably have further consequences. The Frenchman was only allowed to start with a special permit, as later became known. Most likely only because he was already on the site.
The next day the top seeded women's doubles Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos had less luck. At first the two had secretly disappeared from the schedule, again it took a while until the organizers officially announced that the two women were not allowed to compete due to the quarantine regulations - and were consequently disqualified.
This was the climax of a chaotic approach to the COVID-19 case Benoit Paire, Mladenovic and Co would have felt like "prisoners", as the French stated after her departure from the individual competition. A highlight that doubles partner Timeo Babos classifies as extremely inglorious: "It's incredibly unfair, I see no good reason why it had to happen like this," wrote the 27-year-old on Instagram.
Mladenovic tested negative eleven times
She is at home - which most likely means the hotel room in New York City - and sitting in the kitchen crying. In these moments, according to Babos, she only began to realize what had happened in the last few hours. One should look at the facts. Benoit Paire would have tested positive, but his contacts would not have received a single positive response. Mladenovic would have been tested eleven times, Babos himself four times.
The Hungarian also reacts to the fact that Mannarino was allowed to compete the day before: "He was allowed to play, we weren't allowed to play the next day. That is simply unfair. Incomprehensible. It is simply not fair," said Babos. A good chance of winning a Grand Slam tournament was taken away from them. "But why? I don't know, I don't understand", a visibly dejected Timea Babos concludes her statement. .
The organizers said about the disqualification of Babos / Mladenovic: "The public health officials of Nassau County have issued quarantine for all people who have had close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19." Since the player's hotel is in this district, the players are not allowed to commute to the facility. And since Kristina Mladenovic was one of Benoit Paire's contact persons, the doubles were taken out of the tournament.