"Was political" - Zverev match due to Corona case before cancellation

The first corona case at the US Open caused further turmoil on the fifth day of the tournament and almost caused Alexander Zverev to cancel the third-round match.

Against all odds, the German number one followed Angelique Kerber into the last sixteen.

New York (AP) - When the US Open threatened the first corona-related game cancellation on a memorable day full of doubts and excruciating waiting, the number one in the tennis world called the governor of New York.

"I tried to reach people in the highest positions," said Novak Djokovic after his safe third-round victory against the German Davis Cup player Jan-Lennard Struff and the afternoon that was disturbing for everyone involved.

"It was political," said Germany's best professional Alexander Zverev, who was not an insignificant protagonist of the events on the fifth day of the tournament in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Because his French opponent Adrian Mannarino had contact with his professional colleague Benoît Paire, who tested positive for the corona virus days ago, the authorities initially prohibited Mannarino's appearance.

"We have been informed that there is very little chance that we will play," said Zverev.

"The situation was not easy for us, but we are professionals and we have to deal with it."

The 23-year-old from Hamburg was somewhat unsettled by the uncertainty at the beginning, but ultimately reached the round of 16 in the first Grand Slam with a 6: 7 (4: 7), 6: 4, 6: 2, 6: 2 Tournament after the forced Corona break.

There the world number seven meets the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

But the positive results from a German point of view - to which Angelique Kerber also contributed by reaching the round of 16 - or the sporting headlines just before half-time of the US Open became a minor matter.

Despite all the hygiene and safety requirements, despite a life in the bladder and despite all the efforts of the organizers and those involved, the corona pandemic almost resulted in a historic cancellation of a match.

However, those involved did not create clarity or transparency by going back and forth.

What exactly had happened and why Zverev and Mannarino did not enter the Louis Armstrong Stadium at the agreed time remained unclear for a long time and the subject of numerous wild speculations.

The American tennis association USTA reacted late - and then with a dry and almost empty message.

What is certain is that Mannarino, like other French and Belgian professionals, had closer contact with Paire.

The 31-year-old Frenchman had tested positive for Covid-19 and was excluded before the tournament started.

The test result had far-reaching consequences for the contact persons.

A group of up to eleven players had to go into an extra quarantine within the so-called bubble and sign and submit to stricter protocols.

This included daily tests and isolation in your own hotel room.

Even when players like the French Kristina Mladenovic complained about a "nightmare" and "horrible things", the professionals - unlike a week ago at the Masters tournament that was moved from Cincinnati to New York - were not immediately excluded.

The rules had been modified, tournament director Stacey Allaster had explained, pointing out that everything had been agreed with the health authorities of New York State.

On Friday, however, the political authorities suddenly said that Mannarino had to be excluded as one of Pairs' contacts - after he had already played the first two rounds.

"And why should he suddenly not be allowed to play anymore?"

Not only Zverev wondered.

The beginning of the game was rescheduled twice and discarded twice - each time with Zverev's consent.

"It wasn't his fault, it wasn't the US Open's fault," said Zverev.

"But I wanted to support him."

The USTA could most likely have shed light on what exactly happened how that day and who called whom and when.

But the tournament organizers referred to the privacy and sensitivity in medical questions, as they did recently in these cases.

After all, after intense debates and apparently a word of power from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mannarino was allowed to play the game against Zverev several hours late.

"That was a strange day, the players have to cope with it first," said Germany's tennis legend Boris Becker on the TV channel Eurosport at the beginning of the game.

In turn, some of the contact persons now have to cope with the fact that - despite leaving - they have to remain in quarantine in the USA for several days and cannot travel back to Europe immediately.

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