Crisis at the US Open – Djokovic picks up the phone – Babos / Mladenovic disqualified – sport

Novak Djokovic tries to call the governor of New York, Babos / Mladenovic can’t play their game: the crisis at the US Open is reaching a critical point.

Novak Djokovic actually wanted to fully focus on his match against Jan-Lennard Struff, but the crown chaos in New York’s tennis bubble shocked the superstar. He had also noted that the authorities did not want Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to play in his third round match against Alexander Zverev. Action had to be taken, so Djokovic picked up the phone.

“I wanted to get to the governor of New York through some contacts,” said the world number one after reaching the last 16 against Struff. Djokovic didn’t go as far as Andrew Cuomo with his call, but it shows just how serious the situation is at the US Open.

Mannarino see you in New York on Friday

For Mannarino, who had close contact with Benoît Paire, who tested positive for the coronavirus, before the tournament, the story was not running even after being eliminated from Zverev.

“Only hours before the scheduled start of the game I learned that my team and I had to stay in our rooms until the rest of the quarantine,” Mannarino said in amazement. He was not allowed to leave New York until next Friday. His coach would have to stay in his hotel room for another day.

Mladenovic / Babos disqualified

The women’s double competition is also affected by the quarantine regulations: Timea Babos (Hungary) and Kristina Mladenovic (France), who were number 1, have surprisingly been removed from the US Open calendar. The three-time Grand Slam winners would have played on Saturday.

The reason for the removal of Babos / Mladenovic was initially unknown. Like Mannarino, Mladenovic had contact with his compatriot Paire and complained about the conditions of the tournament after his elimination in the singles.

Organizers of the US Open later released a statement Saturday night. It was learned that all people who had prolonged contact with Paire must remain in their rooms throughout the quarantine period and are no longer allowed to train; an exception was apparently made for Mannarino, but no longer for Mladenovic. This has no effect on the individual because Mladenovic is already gone.