Milos Raonic and Belinda Bencic pull out of 2020 French Open

Milos Raonic (Vale Alemanno, Wikimedia Commons)

Milos Raonic of Canada and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland have decided to pull out of the 2020 French Open according to the Toronto Sun. Bencic withdrew because of a right arm injury, while Raonic expressed deep concern of spectators being allowed into Roland Garros for the third major of the year because of coronavirus.

“That to me is the biggest concern, especially with the spikes that are going on throughout France right now,” Raonic said to Mark Masters of TSN during the United States Open. Masters went on to report that Raonic’s absence is a “preventative move” rather than related to a specific injury. There are currently 386, 482 active cases of coronavirus in France and there have been 31, 661 deaths.

Another player who will not be participating is Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. The reason for Verdasco’s absence is the fact he recently tested positive for coronavirus. Verdasco has since tried to dispute the positive test, citing the fact that he originally tested positive in August, but has tested negative several times since. It is entirely possible that Verdasco is one of the people across the world who has caught coronavirus twice.

Bencic, Verdasco and Raonic have all reached the semifinals of a grand slam in the past. Bencic made the final four of the 2019 United States Open. Verdasco reached the semis of the Australian Open in 2009, while Milos Raonic has got to a grand slam semis twice. Both times in 2016–at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

The 2020 French Open begins Sunday. There are two juicy matches on the men’s side featuring grand slam champions. Andy Murray of Great Britain faces Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, and Dominic Thiem of Austria faces Marin Cilic of Croatia.

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