For the second year in a row, the traditional French Open schedule is being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic pulled out of the upcoming Miami Open on Friday, citing coronavirus restrictions as he joined Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on the sideline.
The proliferation of live electronic line-calling tends to be worse for the spectacle of the sport, an element tennis definitely needs. Players can’t challenge a call from the machines at Melbourne Park, so there isn’t much sense in lodging a complaint during the first Grand Slam tournament played with zero line judges. Let’s hope that doesn’t hasten the disappearance of histrionics.
Australian Open organizers weren’t deterred at all, vowing that the year’s first Grand Slam tournament would start as planned next Monday, with all the tuneup tournaments completed - somehow, tweaks are expected - between Friday and Sunday.
Things got more complicated later Wednesday, when the state government announced that a worker at one of the tournament’s three Melbourne quarantine hotels had tested positive for COVID-19. That meant any players, coaches or officials who quarantined at the Grand Hyatt would have to isolate until they returned a negative test for the virus.
The number of players in hard quarantine swelled to 72 ahead of the Australian Open after a fifth positive coronavirus test was returned from the charter flights bringing players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne for the season-opening tennis major.
Paula Badosa beat top-ranked Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-3 at the Volvo Car Open on Friday.
Third-seeded Lorenzo Sonego rallied past Yannick Hanfmann 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 for a spot in the Sardegna Open semifinals on Friday.
GOLF
World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty continued her quest for a second straight title, rallying past Shelby Rogers to reach the quarterfinals at the Volvo Car Open on Thursday night.
Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti saved four match points before beating top-seeded Daniel Evans 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (8) Thursday to reach the Sardegna Open quarterfinals.
April 10
Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty easily won her first clay-court match in two years, cruising past Japan's Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday in the WTA's Volvo Car Open.
Second-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States beat Andrej Martin 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Sardegna Open.
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
Fifth-seeded Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany saved five match points to overcome Joao Sousa 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the first round of the Sardegna Open on Tuesday.
Egor Gerasimov defeated seventh-seeded Guido Pella 6-4, 6-0 and Yannick Hanfmann beat No. 8 Tommy Paul 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-3 in the first round of the Sardegna Open on Monday.
The next generation of men’s tennis remains a jumble of unrealized potential.
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With the Big Three absent at the Miami Open, and tennis' next generation scrambling to fill the void, it was Hubert Hurkacz of Poland who made a breakthrough.
Ash Barty pushed a forehand winner into the open court as her opponent, Bianca Andreescu, laid on her back in the far corner, injured yet again.
Former junior skiing champion Jannik Sinner has joined some fast company at the Miami Open.
In her first match at this year's Miami Open, Ash Barty was one point from elimination. Now she’s one win from becoming a repeat champion.
This year's Rio Open tennis tournament was canceled on Thursday because of the spike in COVID-19 cases in Brazil, organizers said.
As Naomi Osaka's 23-match winning streak neared an end Wednesday, she paused before serving to crane her neck and study the sky, as if seeking intervention from above.
