London (AFP)

British tennis player Andy Murray said on Monday that participating in the US Open and Roland Garros was "his priority", if sanitary conditions allow, on the eve of the start of a 100% British exhibition tournament, the "Battle of the Brits".

The US Open is due to start on August 31 behind closed doors and Roland-Garros is scheduled for September 27.

"Playing the Grand Slam tournaments would be my priority," assured the Scot, who admitted that "the calendar is complicated but I understand the reasons."

"I don't mind this situation as long as playing is safe," he added.

Absent from school for 7 months after a hip injury, the 33-year-old will return to school during a single and double tournament organized behind closed doors and until Sunday by his brother Jamie.

Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund, Cameron Norrie, Jay Clarke, Liam Broady, James Ward and Jack Draper will also compete in singles, while Neal Skupski, Joe Salisbury, Jonny O'Mara, Lloyd Glasspool, Cameron Norrie, Dominic Inglot and Jay Clarke s 'will only line up in duplicate.

If Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal have shown reluctance to cross the Atlantic, Murray, who has not played in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2019 Australian Open, is ready to limit his entourage if necessary.

"If I am told to come only with one person, it can work. I would probably go with a trainer, coaching can be done remotely," he said.

Operated at the hip in 2019, Murray was about to return to the circuit when the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted all competition.

"My hip has been better for the last three or four weeks. I have a little more confidence now because I have a little more training in my legs, whereas in March I was only four or five weeks old since my problem, "he added.

Murray also criticized - very diplomatically - the tournaments in the Blakans which seem to have resulted in contaminations to Covid-19 by Borna Coric and Grigor Dimitrov.

"All countries have different rules, but I think when you start to include international travel and players and their teams come from all over the world, you have to be sure to take all the right precautions, to avoid the situation they find themselves in there, "he said.

"Hopefully it will not be too serious and there will not be a big epidemic there (...) It is a lesson from which we must all learn, if it was not already the case" .

© 2020 AFP