Nadal and Murray criticize "ugly" schedule
There is no peace in the tennis circus. In Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, two experienced top stars now denounce the tightly timed schedule in the year-end spurt. It seems quite possible that Rafael Nadal will not both defend his US Open and French Open titles this year.
by SID / tennisnet
last edit:
Jun 28, 2020, 03:13 pm
The criticism of Novak Djokovic's Adriatic tour fiasco had barely faded, when the next topic burned the top stars. Now the upcoming hot tennis fall is of great concern. From the camps of the former world rankings Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, there are enormous concerns regarding the rush for appointments in the end of the season.
"The schedule is unrealistic, especially for experienced players who can't compete for so many weeks in a row," said Nadal's uncle and longtime coach Toni to Latin American TV broadcaster ESPN Deportes: "I find it a little ugly what ATP did. This decision is completely against players like Rafa and Novak Djokovic. "
The tight timing of the remaining Grand Slams is considered unreasonable in the Nadal district. Because of the corona crisis, the French Open will only take place from September 27th to October 11th, just two weeks after the finale of the US Open. For older and partially injured players like the Spaniard, who are top favorites in both tournaments and probably go far, this burden hardly seems feasible.
Nadal has "great doubts"
So far, Nadal has left it open whether he wants to tackle the title defense mission either at the hard court event in New York or on clay in Paris. "I spoke to Rafa and he has great doubts about which tournaments to play," said his uncle Toni. With his concerns, Nadal is not alone. Injured Andy Murray is particularly upset by the lack of preparation time when changing from hard court to sand.
Already during the final weekend in New York, the prestigious master tournament in Madrid starts (September 13th to 20th). Murray sees an enormous health risk in this smooth transition of the floor coverings. "It is not safe for players to reach the semi-finals or finals in New York, or even the quarter-finals themselves, and then to play on the clay court in Madrid on Tuesday if you have not played on clay for a long time," explained the 33-year-old.
What to do with the world rankings?
Accordingly, hardly a top player will play in Madrid, although there are plenty of points for the world rankings to be won, the Scotsman fears. "The leaderboard could be a bit distorted if you leave the points as they are," said the three-time Grand Slam winner: "There are big tournaments every week and it will be very difficult for players who keep winning to commit to so many events. "
As an alternative, he proposed a temporary change in the ranking to a two-year period. "It could be worth it so that the guys who did well last year and can't really defend their points aren't punished," said the two-time Olympic champion. But this topic will probably only become really topical when the competition starts again in August.
Murray also contemplates skipping the Cincinnati tournament the week before the US Open and competing in Washington instead.