GOLF
Sam Horsfield became the second player in two days to test positive for the coronavirus without any symptoms, knocking him out of the U.S. Open on Monday after he had traveled from England.
Horsfield, who won twice during the European Tour’s “U.K. Swing” to earn one of 10 spots in the U.S. Open, tested negative in a pre-arrival test taken last week.
Upon arrival in New York, his nasal swab test was asymptomatic positive.
Scottie Scheffler, the leading candidate as PGA Tour rookie of the year who tied for fourth in the PGA Championship last month, withdrew Sunday after a positive test.
TENNIS
FRENCH OPEN: Andy Murray received a wild card into the French Open.
The former No. 1 was the only non-Frenchman of eight players to be given a free pass into the main draw of the clay grand slam which starts in 13 days.
Murray was also awarded a wild card into the U.S. Open, after his struggles with pelvic and shin injuries dropped his ranking to 129th. He went two rounds in New York, and improved to 110th, but still too low for the French Open when it published its main draw entry list.
Murray’s best French Open result was the final in 2016.
ITALIAN OPEN: Benoit Paire’s anger at being strictly confined at the U.S. Open after contracting the coronavirus boiled over at the Italian Open during a farcical first-round match on Monday.
The 24th-ranked Paire threw his racket high into the air twice during one game and showed little effort against Italian teenager Jannik Sinner in a 6-2, 6-1 loss.
Paire was forced to stay in isolation in New York until he tested negative – preventing him from training. The Frenchman criticized Rome organizers for making him play on the opening day of the tournament.
“I made only one request, which is to play Tuesday to have an extra day of training after what happened to me in New York, and because I’m playing an Italian you put me on Monday,” Paire tweeted on Sunday.
Twice during the second set, Paire launched his racket high into the air in frustration – the second time coming dangerously close to hitting the chair umpire.
Paire, who put on a face mask during some of the changeovers, had numerous verbal exchanges with the chair umpire but received only one warning for his behavior.
During the final game of the match, Paire slammed returns of serve into the net in anger – with seemingly no intent of putting the ball into play. When he finally managed to get a return into play on Sinner’s first match point, Paire seemed surprised and didn’t bother running down Sinner’s reply.
SOCCER
RACISM: Paris Saint-Germain says it “strongly supports” Neymar’s claim to being racially abused by a Marseille player during their feisty match on Sunday.
PSG’s brief statement on Monday added it was looking forward to the LFP, the governing body of the top French leagues, investigating the facts behind a Ligue 1 match which featured 17 cards.
Neymar was one of five players sent off after an injury-time brawl including punching and kicking at Parc des Princes.
PREMIER LEAGUE: Wolverhampton showed no sign of fatigue after its short offseason by scoring twice in the first six minutes to set up a 2-0 win at Sheffield United in their English Premier League opener.
Raul Jimenez, who scored 17 times in the league last season, sidefooted home a powerful shot from Daniel Podence’s cross to put Wolves ahead in the third minute.
Romain Saiss doubled the lead three minutes later, meeting a left-wing corner from Pedro Neto with a firm header beyond goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
• Four people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the latest round of checks on players and club staff in the English Premier League.
The four people must self-isolate for 10 days, the league said on Monday. Their identities weren’t disclosed.
A total of 2,131 players and club staff were tested from Monday to Sunday last week.
League play began on Saturday.
BOBSLED
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Lake Placid will no longer be the host of this season’s bobsled and skeleton world championships because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation finalized the decision Monday, the people told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the plans have not yet been revealed publicly. That announcement is likely by Tuesday, one of the people said.
The IBSF is going to choose an alternate site for worlds; ones most prominently mentioned include Altenberg, Germany, and St. Moritz, Switzerland. St. Moritz was the runner-up to Lake Placid when the 2021 championships were awarded three years ago.
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