Schwartzman slams USTA: ‘They lied to our faces’

Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman is upset about the dismissal of Guido Pella and Hugo Dellien

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Diego Schwartzman need one win to secure a spot in the ATP Finals

On the eve of the Western & Southern Open qualifying event, South American players Guido Pella and Hugo Dellien were asked to leave the tournament because their fitness trainer Juan Manuel Galvan tested positive for Coronavirus.

While the tournament has started, sans fans, players are still pretty upset about the lack of clarity over protocols. Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman slammed the USTA on Monday after his straights sets loss to Reilly Opelka in the second round of the relocated Cincinnati Masters.

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“What happened with Pella I took it very badly,” the ninth seed told La Nacion.

“Ninety-five percent, or almost 100 percent, of the players took it very badly. We have had a lot of private talks with people who organized the protocols, with people from the USTA, and they lied to our faces…They said that there would be no retaliation for anyone who tested positive.

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“There are many people who tested false positive. We discussed it with ATP people and they agree with what I am saying, but this is a decision of the USTA or the Department of Health and they do not want to test it again, it is something that I cannot understand.”

It has now emerged that Pella and Dellien’s trainer’s second test came negative.

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“It looks like he (Galvan) never had the virus,” said Argentine Pella in an Instagram post. “Imagine how I feel.”

The world No 35 was hoping to resume the season at the Cincinnati Masters but will be in quarantine till Sunday. Which means, even if he makes the US Open, he will be playing with absolutely no match preparation.

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“I do not know who is going to take charge,” said Dellien. Both the players have tested negative five times since they entered the bubble in New York.

World No 1, and ATP Player Council president, Novak Djokovic had also said on Friday that the players were upset about not being told exactly what the protocol was. The players’ understanding was that only if they were sharing a room with a person testing positive for the virus would they be barred.

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“On a Zoom call a few weeks ago we got information from the chief medical doctor of the USTA that if a player is not sharing a room with his coach, or his physio, or anyone from his team that is infected, and his (own) results are negative, he can still compete in the tournament,” Djokovic had said.

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