At start, protocols take center court
Officials place 7 players in ‘bubble in the bubble’
NEW YORK — As the U.S. Open got underway amid the pandemic Monday, seven players were put in what one described as a “bubble in the bubble” because they were in contact with Benoit Paire, the Frenchman dropped from the tournament after testing positive for the coronavirus, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The seven players weren’t identified. The USTA hadn’t announced the names of anyone involved.
But two players from France acknowledged their involvement: Kristina Mladenovic, who’s seeded 30th in women’s singles, and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who’s entered in men’s doubles.
Mladenovic acknowledged after her first-round victory on Day 1 at the Grand Slam tournament that her movements were restricted because she spent time with Paire. She said she practiced with Paire for about an hour and spent 30-40 minutes playing cards with him and others in the lobby of a hotel being used by the USTA for what it has called a “controlled environment.”
“I am basically in a new ‘ bubble in the bubble,’ so there’s not very much I’m allowed to do, which makes it tough for me to compete and mentally be kind of fresh and ready,” said Mladenovic, who doubled over and let out a loud yell after beating Hailey Baptiste 7-5, 6-2.
Asked to describe what she can and cannot do, Mladenovic chuckled.
“Let’s make it simple: I’m allowed to play my match,” she said. “Literally, not allowed to do anything else.”
Allaster said the players potentially exposed to the virus because of contact with Paire now must be tested daily for COVID-19, instead of every four days.
Mladenovic said she was told she can spend time with her brother but “no one else,” and has been banned from working out at the gym and “any other facilities that have been put in place for the players.”
Paire is one of two people to have tested positive so far and the only player. The other was a fitness trainer; two players he was in contact with — Argentina’s Guido Pella and Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien — were kicked out of the Western & Southern Open, the tournament that preceded the U.S. Open at the same site.
There were about 15 people in the seats at 14,000-capacity Louis Armstrong Stadium for the start of 2016 U.S. Open champ Angelique Kerber’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic.
When Kerber broke to take the first game, one person — her coach — clapped.
There were seven people in Court 11’s bleachers — for No. 27 Borna Coric’s 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 win over Pablo Andujar, whose complaint to chair umpire Fergus Murphy about serveclock management was easily audible.
And other than some fake, piped-in crowd noise and loud music blaring on changeovers, there was almost no sound at all in cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium for its first match of the 2020 tournament, No. 1-seeded Karolina Pliskova’s 6-4, 6-0 victory over Anhelina Kalinina.
Two seeded men exited in the afternoon: No. 18 Dusan Lajovic lost to Egor Gerasimov 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; and No. 9 Diego Schwartzman was hampered by cramps, wasted a big lead and was beaten by Cameron Norrie 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5.
On Monday night, top-seed and three-time champ Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-1, 6-4, 6-1.
In the women’s draw, 16-year-old Coco Gauff fell to Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. It was Gauff’s earliest exit from a Grand Slam tourney in four appearances.