ATP Masters Cincinnati: Andy Murray - The full program
For Andy Murray , getting back on the ATP tour is a challenging task. And in lap two, Alexander Zverev would wait.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Aug 22, 2020, 03:16 pm
Andy Murray has not played a competitive game in the current year, the Briton has stopped playing for himself after the Davis Cup final tournament in Madrid last November. But now Murray has gone to the New York City bubble, early on to commit himself to appearances at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati and the US Open. For the latter, the three-time major champion does not have to claim a wildcard after the many rejections, but for Cincinnati he does.
What also applies to Murray's first-round opponent Frances Tiafoe (third match after 5 p.m., live on TV and livestream on Sky and TennisTV) The American has seen better times, only ranks in the current, frozen ATP world rankings 81 (with a career high of 29). Especially at a home tournament, albeit without fans, Tiafoe can be expected. However, Tiafoe did not smear himself with fame in the summer, traveled to Atlanta for an exhibition match tournament with symptoms and promptly tested positive for the corona virus.
Murray with a smooth win against Zverev
In any case, Alexander Zverev is waiting for the winner. The best German player has a bye in round one and is seeded in fifth place. Murray and Zverev first met on the ATP tour, it was a long time ago: in 2016 Murray won the Australian Open 6: 1, 6: 2, 6: 3. Since then, however, the health of the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist has suffered badly, resulting in several hip operations.
Murray had actually said goodbye to the tennis circus at the Australian Open at the beginning of 2019, tearfully, but celebrated a successful comeback at the side of Feliciano Lopez at the ATP Tour 500 tournament in London's Queen's Club almost six months later. In the autumn of last year, Murray even won the 250 tournament in Antwerp.
Alexander Zverev, who has been working with David Ferrer as a coach for a few weeks and has only served for two days at Patrick Mouratoglou's Ultimate Tennis Showdown since his appearances on the Adria Tour, would go into the game against Murray as the clear favorite. But first of all he has to knock Frances Tiafoe out of the tableau.