Germany’s Alexander Zverev has said officials at the US Open ‘did not do the best’ job when it came to addressing the positive test of one of his rivals.
On Sunday Benoit Paire tested positive for the virus and was immediately removed from the Grand Slam. Although other players who have been in close contact with him have been allowed to continue playing after agreeing to abide by much stricter restrictions. The US Open has not commented on who has signed the waivers.
Following his first-round win over Kevin Anderson on Monday, Zverev told Eurosport that there has been a lack of communication concerning Paire. Saying he only found out about the positive test after it leaked in the media with French newspaper L’Equipe being the first to report it.
“The US Open did not do the best job of informing us. We learned the whole situation with Benoit Paire through the media, like everyone else,” Zverev told Eurosport.de.
The world No.7 said other players ‘weren’t too happy’ about discovering Paire’s positive test on social media without mentioning any specific names. He said he had only seen the Frenchman once recently which was in an elevator.
“I think that in such a situation we players should be informed first,” said Zverev:
“We have seen Benoit the whole time. As players, we also have to know who was with whom.”
It was during the same interview that Zverev said that 2019 runner-up Daniil Medvedev is one of those players to have been placed in the ‘bubble inside the bubble.’ It had previously been reported that he held a practice session with Paire at some stage last week. However, Zverev’s claim has been dismissed by Medvedev’s coach. Gilles Cervara told New York Times journalist Ben Rothenberg that the Russian hasn’t been affected in any way.
Kristina Mladenovic confirmed on Monday that she has been deemed as one of Paire’s close contacts and has signed the new waivers. Speaking to reporters, she described the measures as ‘mentally tough.’ At her hotel she has to stay inside her room at all times and isn’t allowed to use the lift.
“I feel very unlucky there, especially that apparently the practice doesn’t count and it’s just the fact that I spent 30 minutes with him being part of that big table. Of course we had our masks on. But it’s just that I’ve been in contact with the person that tested positive,” she said.
Meanwhile, Paire seems to be locking horns with officials at the tournament after posting a comment on his Instagram story taking aim at what he described as a ‘fake bubble.’ He didn’t elaborate any further about when he meant by his comment.
Chris Widmaier, who is a spokesman for the USTA, has hit back with his own criticism of Paire by claiming he wasn’t ‘adhering’ to the right protocols.
Zverev will play Brandon Nakashima in his second round match in New York on Wednesday.
