Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco was removed from the Roland-Garros table before the draw due to testing positive for Covid-19. The player falls into the dreaded category of false positives.
The number 7 will not have brought him luck. The Spaniard Fernando Verdasco said Friday evening that he tested positive for the coronavirus upon his arrival in Paris, where he intended to play the Roland-Garros tournament. The 36-year-old Spaniard is the seventh player, the first in the main draw, after Istomin, Dzumhur, Zapata Miralles, Escobedo, Krstin and Kawa, to be struck out of the competition, for a positive PCR test. In August, the Spanish player was declared positive and asymptomatic. He had chained the negatives since.
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– Fernando Verdasco (@FerVerdasco) September 25, 2020
Verdasco: “It can happen to anyone”
“I tested negative in Rome, in Hamburg and three times since the test came back positive in Paris, the Spaniard got carried away in a message published on Friday evening. I mean my frustration and all my indignation at the decision from the organizers of Roland-Garros! ” Except that the organization of the tournament, in consultation with the responsible institutions, refused to take into account the history of the players and their staff by serology, which could have brought the organism manufactured antibodies.
Instead, players are therefore subject to the lottery. The very high sensitivity of PCR tests carried out in France makes it possible to detect residual traces of the Covid. Unfortunately for Verdasco, the odds did not turn on his side. “It can happen to anyone, besides it has already been the case, railed the former World Top 10. In my opinion, the least of things is to do new tests to avoid unfair disqualifications and give a certain security for the players. If there is material time to do them, at least we do not refuse our request. “
