Smoke delays Aussie Open qualifying
Australian Open officials delayed the start of play by two hours Wednesday on the second day of qualifying until smoke from regional wild fires cleared.
Smoke and hazy conditions at Melbourne Park on Tuesday affected the opening day’s play with organizers criticized for allowing qualifying matches to proceed.
A number of players complained, including Bernard Tomic, who sought medical treatment during his first-round loss when he struggled to breathe. Dalila Jakupovic feared she would pass out before retiring when she collapsed to her knees with a coughing spell.
On Wednesday, Canadian qualifier Brayden Schnur said Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were “selfish” and more concerned about their legacies, saying it’s time the pair stepped up and protested against playing conditions during qualifying.
The 103rd-ranked player, who’s seeded third in the qualifying tournament, was critical of event officials after his firstround win over Sebastian Ofner, which took more than two hours in the hazy conditions that blanketed Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
He said it was incumbent upon the biggest names in the sport for lesser-known players.
Organizers delayed play Wednesday but the air quality index when the players took to court was still graded as “unhealthy” because of the smoke from the bush fires in Victoria.
The Australian Open begins Monday. to be the voice
College football: LSU S Grant Delpit announced that he will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. Delpit, a two-time All-American, is considered by many draft experts as the top prospect at his position . ... Missouri State hired Bobby Petrino as its coach. Petrino, 58, was 119-56 as coach at Arkansas, Western Kentucky and Louisville. He also spent part of one season coaching the NFL’s Falcons in 2007 before abruptly resigning to take the Razorbacks job.
Soccer: Manchester United beat visiting Wolverhampton 1-0 in an FA Cup thirdround replay but lost Marcus Rashford to an unspecified injury that could force him out of a Premier League match against first-place Liverpool on Sunday.
— News services