Paire tests positive for virus at US Open

NEW YORK • France's Benoit Paire has pulled out of the US Open, which started yesterday, after testing positive for Covid-19, French sports daily L'Equipe reported.

The 23rd-ranked player, who was the 17th seed at the hard-court Grand Slam, had been scheduled to play Poland's Kamil Majchrzak in the first round at Flushing Meadows today.

While Paire has yet to confirm his diagnosis on social media, his name was scratched from the list of seeds on the official website on Sunday.

The men's draw instead showed Majchrzak would play Spain's Marcel Granollers.

A United States Tennis Association spokesman said he could "only confirm that a player has tested positive and has been withdrawn".

The 31-year-old Paire arrived in New York to play the Western and Southern Open last week, the final tune-up event before the US Open, but he did not finish his first-round match against Croatia's Borna Coric.

He appeared unwell during the match and asked for a doctor in the opening set before retiring in the second while trailing 6-0, 1-0.

L'Equipe reported fellow Frenchmen Richard Gasquet, Gregoire Barrere, Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Adrian Mannarino were also asked to self-isolate in their hotel rooms following the positive test.

As many as 11 players had contact with Paire, but world No. 28 Alex de Minaur yesterday told The Australian via Facebook Live chat they were all given "special protocols" to proceed with their matches.

The US Open is being played without fans and in a bio-secure "bubble" due to the pandemic, but several high-ranking men and women's players have still decided to skip the tournament because of health concerns.

Despite Paire's infection being picked up while inside the "bubble", world No. 3 Dominic Thiem told reporters he still felt confident about the level of safety at the event.

"There is no safer place in the world right now than here," said the Austrian. "Maybe you can lock yourself somewhere in a cave or something, in the middle of the sea. Otherwise, it's super safe here.

"Still something can happen, as you could see with Benoit. We hope that nobody else is infected."

REUTERS

---

US OPEN