NEW YORK (AP) — For all of the obvious concessions to the coronavirus at the no-fans-allowed U.S. Open — near-empty arenas; silence pierced by the occasional clap, sneaker squeak or roaring jet; a lack of line judges — the aftereffects of one player’s positive test caused the biggest stir on Day 1.
Yes, plenty of matches were played amid a pandemic at the first Grand Slam tournament in nearly seven full months.
And, yes, first-round matches were lost — by 16-year-old Coco Gauff among the women, and No. 9 seed Diego Schwartzman among the men. And won — by No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova, 2018 champion Naomi Osaka and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber among the women, and No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 5 Alexander Zverev among the men.
