COVID case at Australian Open hotel cancels play at tuneups
An Australian Open courtesy car waits outside the Grand Hyatt hotel in central Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. All competition at six Australian Open tuneup events scheduled for Thursday was called off after a worker at one of the tournaments' Melbourne quarantine hotels tested positive for COVID-19. The Australian Open is scheduled to begin Monday. Williams won her last major title at the 2017 Australian Open, when she was pregnant with her daughter, Olympia. On the bottom half of the draw, defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin rallied from a set and a break down to fend off Jessica Pegula 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
Quarantined in New York, Mladenovic wins doubles in Paris
The French player and Hungarian partner Timea Babos defended their Roland Garros doubles title on Sunday, winning their fourth Grand Slam title together. She was placed in quarantine and the U.S. Tennis Association removed the top-seeded team of Mladenovic and Babos from the doubles competition. Seeded second in Paris, Babos and Mladenovic beat the 14th-seeded pairing of Alexa Guarachi from Chile and American Desirae Krawczyk 6-4, 7-5 in Sunday's final. As well as winning at Roland Garros last year, they have also won twice at the Australian Open, in 2018 and 2020. As well as four titles won with Babos, Mladenovic also won in the doubles at Roland Garros in 2016 with French countrywoman Caroline Garcia.
Mladenovic pins French meltdown on US Open lockdown, no-call
France's Kristina Mladenovic plays a shot against Germany's Laura Siegemund in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)PARIS – Kristina Mladenovic blamed her French Open meltdown on her U.S. Open lockdown — and she wasn’t too pleased about a no-call on a double bounce that helped her opponent avoid ceding the first set Wednesday, either. Mladenovic was furious that chair umpire Eva Asderaki didn’t spot the extra bounce that came during a 10-stroke exchange. “If she would have done it, she would have all my respect and be super fair play,” Mladenovic said. “It’s brutal for the body when you (have) eight days (of) lockdown in a hotel room,” Mladenovic said Wednesday.
French Open: Mladenovic collapses again but blames umpire
France's Kristina Mladenovic plays a shot against Germany's Laura Siegemund in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)PARIS – Kristina Mladenovic's first match since her nightmarish end to the U.S. Open produced another collapse and a controversial umpire's call at the French Open on Tuesday. The French player lost to Laura Siegemund of Germany 7-5, 6-3 after serving for the first set at 5-1. Mladenovic was furious with chair umpire Eva Asderaki for not spotting a double bounce on set point. Mladenovic slowed up, looked confused, and wound up touching the net, which automatically gave the point to Siegemund.
The Latest: A 1st for Venus: She loses in 1st round of Open
___7:10 p.m.Serena Williams began her latest attempt to win a 24th Grand Slam singles trophy by beating Kristie Ahn in the first round at the U.S. Open. 3 and hoping to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Pella reached the third round of the U.S. Open in 2018 and the third round of the Australian Open earlier this year. She is a seven-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, including at the U.S. Open in 2013 and 2018. He's the first unranked player to win a Grand Slam match since Nicolas Kiefer at Wimbledon in 2007.
Talk of 'fake bubble,' 'bubble in bubble' on US Open's Day 1
A member of the USTA crew watches a match during the first round of the US Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, in New York. But Monday was significant for introducing terms to the tennis lexicon such as bubble in the bubble and fake bubble." Mladenovic and Mannarino spoke about the situation after wins Monday, saying they were part of a group that played cards with Paire. Baptiste said she was unaware that her opponent was one of the players who had been in contact with Paire. Mannarino said he's been forced to take the stairs to his seventh-floor hotel room to avoid contact with other players.
AP source: Paire out of US Open after positive COVID-19 test
Paire is the first player to test positive ahead of the Grand Slam tournament, which begins Monday without spectators amid the pandemic. His positive test was first reported by French newspaper LEquipe. We are in a bubble.The Western & Southern Open, which ended Saturday, is normally held in Ohio but was moved to the U.S. Opens site in Flushing Meadows this year. On Aug. 20, the USTA announced one positive test but did not identify whose it was, saying only it was not from a player. Paire stopped playing his opening match in the Western & Southern Open on Aug. 22 while trailing 6-1, 1-0 against Borna Coric.