Collins: COVID questions ‘frivolous’
PARIS – Danielle Collins, an unseeded American, was in no mood to discuss anything but tennis after she secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the French Open tennis tournament for the first time at Roland Garros.
Asked about blowing her nose on changeovers and if she had a cold, Collins snapped back to a reporter in her virtual news conference: “I don’t see the thought process there, and I think it’s not a very good question.”
Then came a query about greater restrictions being put in place in Paris to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
“One of the best things about sports is that people get to watch sports,” Collins said. “They get to engage in something that’s not COVID related, not political. I’m not going to comment any further on anything going on in terms of the bubble or COVID protocols or what’s going on in Paris. I think that this event brings a lot of positivity to players’ lives. Really, those questions are quite frivolous.
“Obviously we’re in a pandemic and it’s a very serious situation,” Collins added after beating 30th-seeded Ons Jabeur 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. “But I think you should be reporting on the tennis.”
In Collins’ defense, she spent several stressful hours warming up and cooling down Monday before her match with Jabeur was postponed due to rain.
Collins won’t have much more time to ponder the pandemic before she plays
Wednesday against Australian Open champion and fellow American Sofia Kenin for a spot in the semifinals.
Nadal on course: Rafael Nadal defeated 19-year-old Jannik Sinner of Italy 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-1 in a quarterfinal match that ended at nearly 1:30 a.m. local time. Nadal now has reached the semifinals at Roland Garros for a record-extending 13th time.
He is a 12-time champion at the claycourt Grand Slam tournament and has a 24-0 record in the semifinals and finals. He will face No. 12 seed Diego Schwartzman on Friday.
By winning the French Open, Nadal would tie Roger Federer with 20 Grand Slam titles, the most all time.
Match fixing? The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened a police investigation into suspicions of match-fixing. German newspaper Die Welt and French sports daily L’Equipe said there were suspicious betting patterns in the first round of a women’s doubles match on Sept. 30.
The office said the investigation is being conducted by a French police unit that specializes in betting fraud and match-fixing probes and which, among other investigations, has previously worked with Belgian authorities in investigating suspected fixed matches at the lower levels of professional tennis.
But match-fixing probes targeting Grand Slam tennis are comparatively rare. The Paris prosecutor’s office said the investigation is centered on suspicions concerning one match at Roland Garros and also casting a broader look for any other evidence. It did not specify the match.