Jan 12 (Reuters) – Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina and Denis Kudla of America were pulled out of an Australian Open certification event in Doha after testing positive for COVID-19, Australian Tennis organizers said Tuesday.
The men’s qualifying competition for the first Grand Slam of the year is being held by Qatar from January 10-13, while the women compete in Dubai.
Players are expected to start arriving in Melbourne this week for the Australian Open and the Victorian government has said they were pushing for the strongest protocols seen at any tennis tournament for the February 8-21 event.
“Two players have returned the advanced COVID-19 test at the Australian Open men’s qualification in Doha, Qatar,” Tennis Australia said in a statement. “Both players were removed from the competition and transferred to a quarantine hotel.
“Everyone is supervised by local health authorities, the competition doctor and a medical team. Communication is currently underway to contact close contacts. ”
Morocco’s Elliot Benchetrit, who lost 6-4 6-3 to fourth-seed Kudla, said in a video posted on Instagram that news of the test reached game officials ’progress when Americans led 5-3 in the second set.
However, they did not stop the game to tell Kudla about the progressive test and the Americans broke into the win.
“The rule was to finish the game that was going on before the game was stopped and he was at the last game of the game so he was declared the winner … Benchetrit told the Tennis Majors website by phone.
An Australian Tennis spokesman said local health authorities are informing organizers in writing if a player is testing positive. The player is then notified as soon as possible, which may be during match time.
Australian wild card Dane Sweeny walked into the final third round and the final testament when Kudla pulled out.
Also coming on as a result of a walk was Mario Vilella Martinez of Spain after Cerundolo defeated Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2 6-4 before being withdrawn from service. (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; edited by Peter Rutherford)