US Open: More and more players reluctant to hold the tournament

"Everyone wants to play if possible, but with the conditions that are currently in force it will be very difficult," noted Alexander Zverev, about the New York Grand Slam scheduled from August 24 to September 13, while the coronavirus epidemic is still active. Like Djokovic recently, Zverev mentioned the compulsory passage through a quarantine of 14 days after landing on American soil as well as the impossibility of taking more than one member of his team there and staying in hotels in the 'airport. "In these conditions I do not think that many players will be comfortable playing," he said at a press conference in Belgrade. "Certain conditions will have to change for going there to make sense," said Thiem (N.3).

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However, the Austrian star and the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (N.19) qualified their remarks by recommending to wait until a decision on the US Open is taken, which should intervene by the end of the month, before to adopt a final position. Thiem, Zverev and Dimitrov are currently staying in Belgrade where they participate with the world number one Saturday and Sunday in the first of a series of charity meetings which will take place in the Balkans from June 13 to July 5. Novak Djokovic, who is also chairman of the ATP Players' Council, said on Wednesday that his season, interrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic, would resume in early September in Europe rather than in the United States in August, qualifying as "Extreme" the sanitary conditions planned for the US Open.

From the South of France where he participates from Saturday at the UTS, the competition imagined by Serena Williams coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, Richard Gasquet admitted to him that he had trouble imagining that the US Open could be held. “I find it hard to see concerning the US Open, everything is unclear. Nobody knows, so it's hard to imagine holding the US Open, "said the 50th world to AFP. “But there are two months left, it's long. No one can know. The conditions (proposed) are difficult, but it is doable. Everything is possible, "he said, however. While the ATP and WTA seasons have still not resumed since their break in mid-March, the Masters 1000 of Cincinnati (Ohio), won last year by Daniil Medvedev, is to take place from August 16 to 23 and the US Open from August 24 to September 13. Wimbledon was canceled due to the pandemic and Roland-Garros postponed until the end of September. The world number 2 Rafael Nadal for his part expressed at the beginning of June reservations about the resumption of the season "as long as the situation is not entirely safe and just".

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