US OPEN WHO IS IN WHO’S OUT

By Richard Pagliaro

Tennis treads a major tight rope at the 2020 US Open.

The Flushing Meadows major launches on August 31st as the first Grand Slam played in the Coronavirus climate and first major contested without fans or media.

Keeping the Coronavirus out of Corona Park while convincing superstar champions it’s safe to visit the city that was once the epicenter of

US Open Who’s IN Who’s OUT

the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and ensure they can return to Europe for September’s clay-court schedule without risk of quarantine is the challenge the USTA faces.

Here’s a look at some of the top stars planning to play for the US Open’s $3 million champion’s check and some of the stars who have opted out of the Slam safety bubble.

World No. 1 IN Novak Djokovic initially called the USTA safety protocol “extreme” and “unrealistic,” but the three-time US Open champion is on the entry list playing for his 18th Grand Slam crown.

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

Six-time US Open champion Serena Williams plays for history as she aims to match Margaret Court’s all-time record by winning her record-tying 24th Grand Slam crown. The 1999 US Open champion is also playing for a record seventh US Open title and bidding to win Flushing Meadows for a fourth different decade.

Dancing along the baseline, Sofia Kenin surged to her first Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open. The American No. 1 has stayed active playing the exhibition event in Charleston and World TeamTennis in July and should be a top contender in her sixth US Open.

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

Dominic Thiem came within a set of winning his first major at the Australian Open before bowing to Djokovic in five sets. A threetime major finalist, Thiem should be pumped to improve on his 2019 US Open opening-round exit when he was weakened by a virus. While the two-time French Open finalist is most comfortable on clay, four of Thiem’s last six titles have come on hard courts. Daniil Medvedev turned jeers to cheers in New York last year dueling Rafael Nadal for five gripping sets before falling in a four-hour, 49-minute US Open final. “Because of you guys, I fight like hell,” Medvedev told the New York crowd prompting the 23,000 fans in attendance to salute the Russian with a sustained roar for his sheer defiance and guts. Medvedev remains one of the world’s most dangerous hard-court players.

Naomi Osaka won her maiden A lingering left knee injury knocked Australian Open. Since defeating Serena Williams to win the 2019 US Open, Andreescu has been limited to six matches due to the knee injury, but is on the US Open entry list.

major beating her tennis idol Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final and backed it up topping Petra Kvitova in the 2019 Australian Open final. Since then, Osaka has failed to clear the third round in three of her last four majors, but her stinging serve and flat strikes play well in New York, which is a bit of a home court. Osaka spent her younger years living on Long Island and visited the Open

Bianca Andreescu out of the

as a fan. Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters returns to Flushing Meadows for the first time since her second retirement in 2012 on a wild card. The 37-yearold Belgian is a three-time US Open champion (2005, 2009-2010), spends time at her family’s summer home in New Jersey and famously threw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game.

Andy Murray knows how to win in New York. The former world No. 1 is a former US Open boys champion, who won his first Grand Slam title at the 2012 US Open. The 33-yearold Murray, coming off multiple hip surgeries, will play the Open for the first time since 2018. Though Murray lacks match play so do most players given the sport’s shutdown due to the virus. Stefanos Tsitsipas has just one US Open match victory to his credit, but the Greek’s dynamic allcourt style should play well in New York. The sixth-ranked Tsitsipas has reached at least the fourth round of every other Slam, including his 2019 Australian Open semifinal appearance.

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

Reigning US Open champion Rafael Nadal is skipping the Open out of Coronavirus concerns. Instead, Nadal will focus all his energy on defending Roland Garros and equaling rival Roger Federer’s mark by winning his 20th Grand Slam championship. “The situation is very complicated worldwide, the COVID-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don’t have control of it,” Nadal said.

OUT

World No. 1

Ashleigh Barty, like Nadal a reigning Roland Garros champion, is also opting out of the Open because of the Coronavirus complications. “It was a difficult decision but there are still significant risks involved due to COVID-19 and I don’t feel comfortable putting my team and I in that position,” Barty said. Elina Svitolina reached successive Slam semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, but stepped out of Flushing Meadows citing health risk. “I understand and respect all the efforts they are putting to make it happen in a safe environment,” Svitolina said. “But I still don’t feel comfortable to travel to the U.S. without putting my team and myself at high risk.”

Five-time US Open champion Roger Federer is a fan favorite in New York. This year: no fans and no Fed. Continuing recovery from his second arthroscopic surgery of the year, the 38-year-old Swiss is out for the season and will miss New York for just the second time since his 2000 debut.

A 2016 US Open semifinalists, Gaël Monfils made the Flushing Meadows quarterfinals last year falling in five sets to Matteo Berrettini. Monfils joins long-time girlfriend Elina Svitolina in skipping the Open for safety reasons.

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is on the US Open entry list, but told the Latvian media she won’t go to New York. “America is not in my plans, it is is too dangerous at the moment and I do not want to risk my health or that of others,” Ostapenko said. An outspoken critic of tennis exhibitions during the Coronavirus crisis, Nick Kyrgios is skipping the Open due to health and safety concerns. “It hurts me at my core not to be out there, competing at one of the sport’s greatest arenas, Arthur Ashe Stadium, but I’m sitting out for the people, for my Aussies, for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost their lives,” Kyrgios said. “For all of you, it’s my decision, like it or not, and those are my reasons.”

Madrid champion Kiki Bertens bounced the mini-American swing off her schedule in favor of staying in Europe for Rome and Roland Garros. The seventh-ranked Bertens said she was heeding the Dutch government’s warnings against traveling to the U.S. and was concerned she’d face a 14- day quarantine if she made the trip. The US Open is the only Slam where Bertens has yet to surpass the third round.

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

Stan Wawrinka knocked off Novak Djokovic in a powerful performance to win the 2016 US Open, but Stan the Man will be MIA from New York this year.