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As the French Open Begins, Confusion and Fears About Coronavirus Dominate

Michel Euler/Associated Press

The sports world’s dance with coronavirus lands in Paris this weekend, at the French Open.

Rafael Nadal will be gunning for a record 13th men’s singles title at Roland Garros, which has become a fresh test of how close life can get to normal without sparking another cluster of cases that would force French authorities to turn back to the hammer of a lockdown.

This tournament, which begins Sunday and ends Oct. 11, makes its home in a city where residents spent the past months enjoying some semblance of their pre-pandemic lives — long afternoons and evenings at cafes, access to many of the world’s best known museums, and students attending schools in person.