Turbulence around restarting tennis: "Nobody wants to get on the plane"
Angelique Kerber opened in Bad Homburg, Berlin dressed up for a lawn tournament - but almost everything revolves around the US Open these days. The doubts about the restart are big.
by SID / tennisnet
last edit: Jul 12, 2020, 01:32 pm
Angelique Kerber enjoyed the shortest lawn season of her career to the fullest. "It was a lot of fun," said the 32-year-old after some carefree ball changes in the Bad Homburg sun. But then the best German tennis player turned her gaze to New York, the uncertain US Open - and the lines of worry were back.
"Safety comes first. I have the responsibility for myself and my team," said the three-time Grand Slam winner regarding the world-famous tournament from August 31, and later added to the ZDF sports studio: "Stand today would like to put nobody on the plane and fly to New York. "
The restart of the international tennis tour is getting closer. And doubts are growing whether the USA is the right place for it. World number one Novak Djokovic, 19-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and Wimbledon champion Simona Halep publicly questioned their participation in the planned first highlight after the corona break. Kerber did the same after the inauguration of the new center court in Bad Homburg.
ATP is planning a video conference on Monday
Jump to Berlin, in an elegant hotel in the center: Here, prominent heads of the scene on Saturday initially spoke of positive expectations for a show tournament with a top-class cast - despite Alexander Zverev's short-term cancellation. One is happy about the coming of Tommy Haas , he will attack again at the Steffi Graf Stadium in Grunewald at the age of 42 from Monday (live on ServusTV and Eurosport).
But Berlin was also very much about the turbulence on the tour, and Haas was a sought-after contact. He is an American by choice and, as the tournament director of the Masters in Indian Wells, is well networked in the scene. "The tournaments in the US had time to prepare. I expect the games to come," he said. It leaked on Sunday that the ATP player union wants to convince the professionals of the trip to the USA in a video conference on Monday.
Before the US Open, the felt balls are said to fly over the net in Washington and another preparatory tournament in New York. But the country, led by President Donald Trump, has been hit hard by the pandemic with more than 60,000 new corona infections a day. And then there are the blatant scheduling problems of the professionals.
Dominic Thiem: Good US Open and French Open "almost impossible"
The French Open is scheduled to start on September 27, two weeks after the US Open. Getting far at both tournaments will be "almost impossible," said Dominic Thiem, third in the world rankings, who is also stopping in Berlin these days, the Austrian newspaper Der Standard . The planned quarantine measures for the US Open also hit several players. Here, players and coaches are supposed to live in a "bubble", to be moved back and forth between the airport hotel and the facility. Trips to Manhattan should be avoided. Tournament director Stacey Allaster gave great confidence in the players.
Many industry giants already seem to be focusing on the French Open, including Kerber. "I still miss Paris in my collection," she said: "That's why I'll be preparing for sand this year as best I can."