The Palermo Country Time Club of Palermo hosted the restart of tennis after five months. Yet at the gates of the mini-season in the States there is still great uncertainty. After announcing the forfeit from the US Open, Rafael Nadal was unable to give any guarantees on the season in Europe.
Without the Mutua Madrid Open and with the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and obviously Roland Garros at the window. Toni Nadal almost inevitably thought to enrich the general picture, as always engaged in the Academy. "His decision didn't surprise me.
I must confess that he has been thinking about it for some time. Even a couple of weeks ago when we spoke, I had a suspicion that he wanted to skip the season in the US. And I believe that in general he made a prudent decision," explained the historic coach to the Spanish newspaper El Larguero.
"Tennis is not like soccer. In soccer everything happens very quickly. The teams move twenty-four hours earlier, play and leave. In a tennis tournament, you may happen to spend twenty-five days in the same place. And the opportunities to get in touch with other people in those twenty-five days are much more." Despite the circumstances, and the doubts that the period obviously imposes, Toni still managed to reassure everyone about Rafa's physical condition.
Who will be ready when the time comes, so to speak. "I have been following his training for the past few days and he seemed very fit. An athlete obviously needs competition, also because just preparation without tournaments makes you lose focus.
Rafa is now aiming for Rome and Roland Garros. And he knows that this is the time to do things right," he concluded. The Cincinnati tournament should therefore mark the restart of the men's circuit. Djokovic, who is still on the New York Slam Entry List, is expected to make a final decision by the end of this week.
In short: the situation is still evolving for the vast majority of the characters in the circuit. The contagion curve around the world must always be monitored with great attention
Rafael Nadal will not play the US Open 2020
We thought that canceling the Mutua Madrid Open could change his mind.
Or that the presence on the preliminary Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 Entry List could have said something, but not, Rafael Nadal, in the end, made the most obvious decision: he will not play the US Open 2020. The defending champion decided to renounce to the Us Open and dedicate himself to the clay court season (with the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and obviously with the Parisian Slam) without forcing the come back on hard-courts.
He will be a luxury absent in New York, along with the number two of the world Roger Federer, whose cause surgery on his right knee will presumably come back to Australian Open next year, and with Gael Monfils to close this particular circle.
The US Open entry list therefore includes Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini and David Goffin, like the mainly stars of the event at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The first alternate is Andy Murray, champion of the tournament in two thousand and twelve, who obviously should have no problems entering. The Briton was also awarded a wild card by the organizers of the Western & Southern Open of Cincinnati, this year at Flushing Meadows. In the women's Entry List there are all the Top 10 except for the number one in the world Ashleigh Barty