New York (AFP)

The health bubble of the US Open continues to parasitize the course of the tournament: Friday, a mysterious delay of nearly three hours disrupted the start of the match between Adrian Mannarino, under close surveillance, and Alexander Zverev.

While we had learned a few hours earlier, from the mouth of the Belgian player Ysaline Bonaventure, that she and the other "contact cases" of Benoît Paire were prohibited from leaving the bubble before the end of next week, even s 'They were eliminated, Zverev was seen lounging shirtless on the terrace of the Arthur-Ashe court lodge.

Yet he should have been, at the same time, battling the Louis-Armstrong ...

As time passed, it appeared that the German was simply waiting for his opponent.

But where was the Frenchman?

Impossible to know.

Later when the match was rescheduled "not before 5:00 p.m. (23:00 French)", the causes of the delay were still unknown.

"I was told that there is little chance that we will play," Zverev said.

And suddenly Mannarino appeared, dressed all in black, perfectly impassive.

The match could start, around 5.15 p.m., almost three hours late.

- State against city -

During the match, the USTA issued a statement to + explain + the delay: "The Zverev-Mannarino match was delayed, following a dialogue with the health authorities on Friday. Communication continued with the players in the game. afternoon to keep them informed at all times. Given the sensitivity of the medical issues involved, the USTA is unable to provide further details. "

The assembly instructions for kit furniture are more explicit ...

It was not until Mannarino himself shed some light on the situation, explaining that New York State had tried to "override" New York City to prevent him from playing this match.

"I don't know who did what. A lot has happened during this time and finally at 4.30pm I was told that I could play. I thank everyone who went out of their way so I could play," added the player who therefore almost fell victim to a game of political influence.

This episode adds to the turmoil surrounding the US Open and weighs down the already seriously deteriorated atmosphere.

After his victory, later in the night session, Novak Djokovic claimed to have tried to reach the state governor Andrew Cuomo, to allow Mannarino to play.

"I am not happy with the way the situation was handled with the French player," he said.

The latter did not show him any resentment, assuring that although unusual, the living conditions were bearable.

But others were much more critical, such as Kristina Mladenovic or Benoît Paire, even suggesting that they could not say everything they had on their mind.

- "Netflix series" -

A tweet from Luka Mladenovic, the player's brother and coach, reinforced this impression again on Friday: "If only you knew everything that is going on here ... THIS IS A NETFLIX SERIES I YOU THE SWEAR ... You know about 10% I think ".

Kristina Mladenovic had said Wednesday to feel like a "prisoner" or a "criminal".

Two days later, we understand a little better with this confirmation from Mannarino: "I was told, and to all the players in my situation, that once eliminated we could continue to train on the site every day , but we were told this morning that in fact we would have to stay in the room for the rest of the quarantine ... "

However, as Bonaventure pointed out on Thursday, "we've been here for 22 days now and have always tested negative. It's hard to accept, especially now that we've lost."

How can we understand, in fact, that players who are negative for the coronavirus can become more dangerous eliminated than when they were still in contention, to the point of being totally reclusive in their room when they could go out to play and train?

Anyway, some absent must be telling themselves that they were not wrong to have steered clear of the bubble.

© 2020 AFP