Five-seeded Alexander Zverev had to wait for his match in the third round.
Opponent Adrian Mannarino from France did not get the go-ahead to play at first, as the organizers suspected that he had been in physical contact with his compatriot Benoit Paire, who withdrew from the tournament after testing positive for covid-19.
- I was told that the chance for games was very small.
Authorities in New York called and said he would not play.
Then there were different messages back and forth.
It was pure politics and had nothing to do with us players, said Zverev after the match, which finally got the green light.
"A lot of effort"
Mannanrino was put under a so-called "extended medical sight protocol" after his contacts with Paire emerged, and Mannarino said after the match that he was told exactly when he would go on the field.
- I was preparing to go out to the track at 2.30 pm.
The leader of the ATP tour came to me and explained the situation and that he told me that the health authorities had taken over the situation from the city, he told me after the match, and continued:
- The city allowed me to play but the state took over and said that I had been in contact with an infected person so that I would be quarantined in my hotel room and not allowed to go out on the track.
They said they had been in contact with some people and that the decision could be changed.
Obviously a lot of effort was taken, the delayed match and "Sasja" (Zverev) accepted it, so it was nice.
Tiebreak in the first set
In the end, among other things after the world setter Novak Djokovic pulled in a few threads, the match was given the green light and could begin almost three hours after the set start time.
Then Mannarino took home the first set after a tiebreak, but then it was a fun end for the Frenchman.
In the end, Zverev won 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and is ready for the fourth round, where the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is waiting.