New York (AFP)
Former world No.1 Andy Murray, two-time tournament winner, is awarded a wild card for the Cincinnati Masters 1000, relocated from August 20 to 28 in New York, just before the US Open, announced Monday the organizers.
In addition to the Briton, the Americans Tennys Sandgren (55th player in the world) Tommy Paul (57th) and Frances Tiafoe (81st) were also invited to this tournament in which Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are notably registered, as well as the Russian Daniil Medvedev, holder of the title.
Falling back to 129th place in the ATP ranking following his hip operations which had prompted him to announce his retirement in early 2019, before reversing his decision, Murray is attempting a return to the highest level this year.
But despite this invitation, his presence on the Flushing Meadows side is not yet guaranteed. The double Olympic champion is indeed waiting to learn more about the health protocols that will be imposed, in particular on the return from the United States to Europe where a quarantine could be imposed. Which would complicate things to play in stride in Madrid.
This Masters 1000 from Cincinnati, moved to New York, is supposed to mark the resumption of the men's circuit, behind closed doors, in the bubble of the Billie Jean King national center where the US Open will be linked (August 31 / September 13).
For the moment, like Djokovic and Nadal, Murray has not yet confirmed his participation in the American round of the Grand Slam. But he is "preparing mentally", he told the free daily Metro last week.
"We were saying four or five weeks ago that we were pretty skeptical about this, but mentally, at some point you have to start preparing and organizing."
So "I am preparing to be in good shape for the US Open", he added, even though he is "worried" about its continuation while the United States is the country most affected in the world by the pandemic, again uncontrolled, of the coronavirus.
© 2020 AFP