ZVEREV PLAYS ON DESPITE ILLNESS
COVID controversy has stalked Alex Zverev all summer and yesterday it reared up again when he departed the French Open admitting he had played while feeling ill.
The sixth seed was beaten in four sets in his fourth-round match by 19- year- old Italian Jannik Sinner and later told the media he should not have taken to the court in the first place.
‘I was completely sick in the night after the match with Marco Cecchinato (on Friday),’ he said. ‘I can’t really breathe as you can hear by my voice. I had fever as well. I’m not in the best physical state, I would say.’
Players are tested every five days for coronavirus and an event spokesperson said that, while up to date, the German was due a new one after being found negative on Tuesday, September 29.
He did not consult medical staff before playing and the safety protocol for the event calls for players to ‘adopt a responsible attitude and not attend the stadium’ if they feel unwell.
It isn’t the first time Zverev has behaved recklessly with Covid19, having attended Novak Djokovic’s notorious Adria Tour. He was then pictured partying in a French restaurant a week later.
His defeat was far from the biggest upset of the day. Iga Swiatek turned up at Roland Garros yesterday morning as a little-known contender and by l unchtime found herself marginal favourite to win the tournament.
The 19-year- old from Poland took just 68 minutes to pull off the biggest upset of the week by beating the player who had looked the tournament’s most likely winner, Simona Halep, 6-1, 6-2. Shortly afterwards Martina Trevisan, a 26-year- old Italian, made it through to face Swiatek in the quarter-finals when she knocked out the fifth seed, Kiki Bertens of Holland 6-4, 6-4.
Sinner now faces Rafael Nadal, who beat Sebastian Korda 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Dominic Thiem squeezed into the quarter-finals by beating Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3.