Adrian Mannarino 'thankful' he was allowed to play his U.S. Open match

Adrian Mannarino had to wait more than two hours on Friday to find out if he would be allowed to play Alexander Zverev in a third-round match while U.S. Open and government officials worked out issues related to the coronavirus.

After losing the match in four sets, the French player told reporters that the New York Department of Health had stepped in to stop the match because Mannarino is one of seven players under special isolation protocols after being in close contact with Benoit Paire, a countryman who tested positive for COVID-19 before the Open began and was removed from the tournament. 

“[New York City] allowed me to play with a new protocol on Sunday,” Mannarino said. “The state took over this decision to say I‘ve been exposed to a positive case so I should be quarantined in my room and not be able to go on the tennis court and not be able to play the match today [Friday].” 

Mannarino tried to prepare as best as he could for the match that was postponed from 2:30 to 5 p.m., saying he left it up to his coach to communicate with the interested parties. Ultimately, he was allowed to play, and though he lost he was grateful for the opportunity.   

“I just want to be thankful to all these people [who] have been trying to get me on court today,” he said. “I was able to play my tennis match. I’m pretty happy about that.”  

After winning his third-round match on Friday night, No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic said he tried to be involved in the situation.    

“I was also trying to get to the people that are in the highest positions in New York State through some of the contacts, trying to get to the governor of New York,” he said. “I understood that he was the only one that could actually make the decision to revert the decision that Mannarino was withdrawn from the tournament.”  

He didn’t get through.

Quarantine order

The USTA announced Saturday that Nassau County has issued a quarantine order for all individuals who had contact with Paire, forcing them to stay in their hotel rooms on Long Island.  Kristina Mladenovic was one of seven players affected and has withdrawn from the doubles competition along with partner Timea Babos. Mladenovic was the last of the players under special quarantine that remained in the tournament. The USTA statement on the matter said, in part,  “As the players are staying in Nassau County, the quarantine notices prevent any of these individuals from commuting to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. The USTA is obligated to adhere to government guidance at the State, City and County level. All persons who were identified as having prolonged close contact with the infected player will quarantine in their rooms for the remainder of their quarantine period.”