PAIRE’S OUT AFTER POSITIVE COVID TEST

NOTORIOUSLY sociable French player Benoit Paire provided a Covid-19 scare for the US Open when he tested positive on the eve of the tournament.

Several of his compatriots, such as Richard Gasquet, were immediately told to confine themselves to their hotel rooms after the test result was discovered. Paire, who arrived in New York last Tuesday, was asymptomatic and had already undergone several negative tests in the last week.

The extrovert 31-year-old from Avignon is known for his social life and is sure to have been mixing in the common areas of his biosecure hotel. He was quickly withdrawn from the tournament and put into isolation, replaced in the main draw by 149th-ranked Marcel Granollers, who will now play Paire’s opponent Kamil Majchrzak of Poland. Meanwhile, Grand Slam organisers will be on alert after Novak Djokovic and his allies set up a new male players’ association. A meeting in New York on Saturday saw more than 60 of the men playing in the US Open sign up for the new ‘union’. Defying calls from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and various governing bodies for unity, they hope to be a new force in the global game’s already fractured governance structure. A long-term goal is sure to be a push for increased prize money, especially at Grand Slams. The hugely profitable Big Four events pay 15 to 18 per cent of their revenues to players, which some believe is not enough, despite first-round singles losers being paid more than £40,000, not to mention the huge recent investments in the four Slam venues. One ringleader, Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, struck a conciliatory tone, saying: ‘The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) did not emerge to be combative, to disrupt, or to cause any issues. Simply to unify the players, have our voices heard and have an impact on decisions being made that affect our lives.’

Among those posing for a picture at Arthur Ashe Stadium to mark the first new tennis players’ union since 1972 were Djokovic, John Isner and Grigor Dimitrov, plus two future stars, Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.