French Open: John Millman up for the challenge on and off the court at Roland Garros
Players are ’outraged and frustrated’ at being forced out of the French Open for failing COVID tests as a scandal threatens to over shadow the tournament's opening day.
Tennis
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Roland Garros gets underway in chilly, damp Paris still in the grip of the coronavirus which organisers had hoped they would escape by unilaterally pushing back the clay court Grand Slam event by four months.
Opening day will see 2018 champion Simona Halep start her bid for a third major while 40-year-old Venus Williams kicks off her 23rd French Open.
Andy Murray takes on fellow three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the day’s marquee tie in a rematch of their epic 2017 semi-final duel.
However, it will be an eerily unfamiliar tournament, even for defending champion Rafael Nadal, chasing a 13th Paris title, and 2016 winner and world number one Novak Djokovic, as well as Serena Williams, pursuing an elusive 24th major.
A resurgence of Covid-19 cases means that only 1,000 spectators will be allowed into the grounds each day.
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In 2019, more than 500,000 people watched the two-week tournament on site. Organisers had hoped to welcome 20,000 fans a day but in the space of just a few weeks, that figure was quickly downsized to 11,500, then 5,000 before the French government slashed it to a 1,000 maximum.
“Tens of millions of euros have gone up in smoke,” said French Tennis Federation (FFT) marketing chief Stephane Morel as he mourned the loss of ticket income.
Players, meanwhile, have been confined to two tournament hotels with tight restrictions on their movements.
It’s at the hotels where they undergo Covid-19 testing, a source of controversy and recrimination in the build-up.
Last weekend, five players due to take part in men’s qualifying were stood down. Two had tested positive while three others had been in contact with coach Petar Popovic who also tested positive.
Popovic told L’Equipe it was a “scandal” and had “(Rafael) Nadal been in our shoes, he would have had the right to a second or third test”.
On Friday, veteran Spaniard Fernando Verdasco said he was “outraged and frustrated” after being withdrawn following one failed Covid-19 test which he claimed fell between a steady stream of negative results.
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THE AUSTRALIANS
Round one
25-Alex de Minaur v Marco Cecchinato (ITA)
John Millman v Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP)
Alexei Popyrin v Lloyd Harris (RSA)
Jordan Thompson v Radu Albot (MDA)
James Duckworth v Tommy Paul (USA)
Aleksandar Vukic v Pedro Martinez (ESP)
Marc Polmans v Ugo Humbert (FRA)
Ajla Tomljanovic v 20-Maria Sakkari (GRE)
Daria Gavrilova v 24-Dayana Yastremska (UKR)
Maddison Inglis v 27-Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
Astra Sharma v Anna Blinkova (RUS)
LEO SCHLINK SELECTS
Men’s champion: Rafael Nadal. More vulnerable than usual because of the later staging of the event, the Spaniard won’t get the high bounce and extreme spin that makes him virtually impregnable. Still the best claycourter in the world.
Women’s champion: Simona Halep. The Romanian is in superb form and, as top seed, is the obvious player to beat.