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French Open rolls into its second week

By Arnie Leshin 
As the French Open rolls into its second week under rainy skies and with a limited number of spectators allowed in the stands each day, its host city is battling a sharp resurgence of the novel coronavirus.
All bars in Paris and its surrounding areas will close today (Tuesday) for a period of at least two weeks. French authorities announced this on Monday. while restaurants will remain open under stricter sanitary guidelines. Gatherings of groups larger than 10 people will be banned, except in special circumstances, and department stores and shopping centers will have to adhere to social distancing. Sports centers will remain open for children only, and gymnasiums throughout the city will remain closed.
This past Saturday night, France recorded nearly 17,000 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, its largest single-day increase since it began recording daily tallies. Authorities hope that new temporary restrictions will reduce pressure on hospitals, which have begun to see increases in patients admitted to intensive car wards.
Paris’ new restrictions throw the health protocols at the year’s final major tournament into sharp relief, and not just because of the virus raging outside of the confines of Roland Garros, the site of the French Open.
On Sunday, recent United States Open runner-up Alexander Zverev said in a news conference that he had a fever of 100.4 Fahrenheit on Saturday and was feeling so sick that he should not have competed in his fourth-round match against Italy’s 19-year-old Jannik Sinner, which he lost.
But players were tested upon arrival and tested every five days thereafter, and everyone from No. 1 seeded Novak Djokovic on down must stay at a designated player hotel throughout the tournament. Players are prohibited from leaving the hotel when not competing at the risk of disqualification. The hotel, the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, is not used exclusively for France Open players and members of their teams, and anyone who wants to rent a room can do so.
On the subject of spectators, French Open officials announced that 1,000 daily spectators will still be allowed on site, but must apply to the restrictions posted for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the French Open plays on. Rain falls and stops play for a short time, arguments are many with players begging to differ with the linesmen and chair umpire, and good and bad regarding the red clay court.
In the women’s singles, it’s an all-USA quarterfinals when 4th-seeded Sofia Kenin, only 21 years old and winner of the 2020 Australian Open, faces 25-year-old unseeded Danielle Collins, the NCAA two-time champion, who upset 30th-seed Olivia Jabeur of France, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, and Kenin lost the first set, 6-2, to unseeded Fabria Ferro, and handily won the next two, 6-2, 6-1.
One notable sight appeared after Kenin lost set one. That’s when her father, Alex Kenin, her coach, decided to change seats, getting up and moving to a closer seat to the court opposite Ferro’s coach, Willy Santales of France, and just like that, his daughter Sofia won the next two sets, he arm elbowed Santales, and strode ahead.
“Oh yeah, I know Willy for years,” was how Alex smiled and answered the question, “and he said we’ll go out for beer, and I answered, no Volga. I thought I should sit closer because I had the higher seed, and he was closer, so I changed by seat.”
The top-seed, Simona Halsep of Germany, had a bad day and went 6-1, 6-0, to unseeded 20-year-old Iga Swiatek of Poland. There was also 7th-seeded Paula Kvitova of Russia taking out unseeded Soi Zank of Japan, 6-2, 6-4, and in a match between unseeds Luice Siegeaund and Paloe Badosa, won by Siegeaund, 7-5, 6-2. Siegeaund next faces Kvitova.
In men’s singles, Djokovic had no trouble sweeping unseeded Kevin Hachanov, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, while young Sinner had the surprise of the day when he disposed of 4th-seeded Zveres in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, after which Zveres said he had been ill and shouldn’t have played. Second-seeded Rafael Nadal, 34 years old and winner of 12 French Opens, got past unseeded Sebastian Korda, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, with the 19-year-old acknowledging that Nadal has been his idol, was playing him for the first time, and even named his pet cat after Nadal.
Nadal then returned to eliminate the young rising star Sinner, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3, and unseeded Pablo Carreno of Spain topped unseeded Donald Altmaier of Great Britain, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2, 5th-seeded Spencer Tsitsipas of Greece ousted George Cudimtov of France, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2, the 18th seed, and then there was 13th-seeded Alan Rublev of Poland going four set before turning back Michael Fucsovics, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6.
Another surprise was 11th-seeded Paul Shapovalov of Canada, falling to 101st-seeded Roberto Carballes of Spain, 5-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 8-6, and then complaining about the tournament schedule. This match went a marathon five hours and 42 minutes, and then Shapovalov was told his doubles match would be played two hours later, which he thought was little time that followed his singles.
In another 5-hour match, 12th-seeded DIego Schwartzman of Brazil upset 3rd-seeded Alex Thiem of Germany, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2.

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