Dominic Thiem: "When the US Open takes place, I'll play it"
Will the US Open take place, and if so, who will play it? Dominic Thiem answered at least for himself the last part of the big question before Flushing Meadows.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jul 23, 2020, 07:55 am
"If they take place, I am very sure that it will be safe there and then I will also play there," said Thiem in an interview with CNN Sport. "It's time for the normal tour to return."
It was only announced on Monday that the tournament would not take place in Washington , the "new" tour start should now be on August 23, with the Cincinnati Masters tournament, which this time is to be held at the Flushing Meadows facility. It still remains unclear whether the top stars Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will compete - after all, Djokovic had trained on hard court, Nadal on clay. Perhaps a sign that he is only starting the Madrid tournament in the week after the US Open to concentrate on the French Open. These are supposed to make ends meet with 20,000 fans a day.
in a Grand Slam tournament without fans, as is planned in New York, one could imagine "difficult," says Thiem. He has played 24 Grand Slam tournaments over the course of his career, "and if you see 50,000 or 60,000 fans there every day, it's hard to imagine without fans." On the other hand, you have to deal with it until normal life is back. "The main thing is that the tour and tennis return."
Adriatic tour: "As if you were back to normal"
Looking back on the Adriatic tour , Thiem again admitted that the tournament was a mistake. However, it was important that all players who tested positive for COVID-19 were healthy again. Everyone had learned from the mistake. When I got there it was for a short time, "like you are back to normal, with fans, happy children. We forgot to keep the distance, not to take photos, not to hug the children. It was a mistake , everyone regrets it, but now it's time to look ahead. "
The criticism of organizer Novak Djokovic, however, was unfair, "he didn't break any law or force any player to come or interact with the fans. It was all up to us. The whole event was for a good cause.