At Australian Open, some players say they ignore the bracket

MELBOURNE, Australia — Some players at the Australian Open claim they do not want to know which opponents could stand between them and a championship. And so they say they try to avoid looking at the bracket at the Grand Slam tournament that began this week at Melbourne Park. Some say they do that for superstitious reasons. Others insist that policy allows for better focus. But there are players, such as U.S. Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe, who say that is all nonsense. He says it just makes sense to know what the potential path through the field entails.

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