The opportunities and obstacles surrounding the US Open

The US Open will commence from the 31st August in Flushing Meadows, New York. This will be the first grand event to be held amidst the Pandemic. This slam will be providing a lot of opportunities to new players as many elite players have withdrawn. However, the Flushing Meadows, venue for the slam exists in New York- one of the hardest-hit cities by the pandemic.

Opportunities for players

Next-gen Players with all guns blazing

The high number of withdrawals has given way to a lot of upcoming, unseeded players. It will be a golden chance for players such as Sumit Nagal, World No. 127 who has got directly into Main Draw. Unlike last year, where Indians had to pave way after playing the qualifying rounds.

The next-gen players in the Men’s draw will have all guns blazing this US open as two goats have decided not to play. This will be a rare opportunity for players like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Austrian Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, and the German Alexander Zverev.

Serena Williams will try to fetch her 24th Slam

The two women who have consistently performed well in the absence of Serena Williams are Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep. Both these women have had a neck to neck competition. While Ashleigh Barty currently is World No. 1 with 8717 points the Romanian has 6076 points holding the 2nd rank.

There have been several tennis critics who have claimed that in the absence of Serena Williams, tennis has witnessed its downfall. There is not a single woman who could be seen dominating the women’s’ tennis. Thus with World No. 1 and World No.2 not participating in the US Open, Serena will try to grab her 24th Grand slam title and equal the record of Margaret Court.

Novak Can chase Roger and Rafa’s record

Roger Federer and Rafel Nadal will not participate in the US Open, this gives chance to Novak Djokovic to get closer to their slam records. Even though Novak leads the head-to-head against both the players yet he would enjoy the dominance in the draw.

Novak currently holds 17 Grand Slam titles, while the Spaniard has 19. Roger leads the league with 20 Grand slam titles. With a slam without Federer, Djokovic should aim to raise his no. to 18 with another US Open title to his name. During his last year’s performance, Djokovic had to retire in the round of 16, against Wawrinka.

For the youngsters too, the absence of Roger and Rafa does mean higher chances of moving ahead in the tournament.

Andy Murray Set to make a comeback

The British tennis star has been away for a while now. He had a hip surgery back in January, 2019. Murray has been waiting to make a comeback and even played doubles along with Serena Williams in 2019 at the Wimbledon grass. However, it will be a golden opportunity at US Open which Andy would try to make the most.

Murray got into the Main draw and will enjoy not facing Roger or Rafa at the Flushing Meadows. Moreover, all the other participants too have been away from the tour since March. Therefore in a way, all the players are making a comeback on the tour, playing after a long halt caused due to the pandemic.

Obstacles surrounding the slam

New York has glaring number of cases

New York has had 426,000 confirmed cases and over 32,000 people have succumbed to death due to the virus. Thus, one of the biggest concerns is not simply departing from home amidst the Pandemic, but traveling to one of the worst-hit cities. It is thus no surprise a lot of players have withdrawn. The Aussie players Ashleigh Barty, Nick Kyrigios, and Alex Popyrin.

The Infamous agreement

Recently, the US Open 2020 agreement that has been made by the USTA has come into the limelight. The tennis fans are amazed at the drastic clauses that have been established. It may be seen as a warning that has been deployed by the organizers.

“I voluntarily assume full responsibility for any risks of loss or personal injury, including serious illness, injury or death, that may be sustained by me or by others who come into contact with me, as a result of my presence in the Facilities, whether caused by the negligence of the NTC or otherwise.” the agreement stated.

The agreement has asked players to take full responsibility for any harm that they may endure during the tournament. It is also an exclusive agreement that has never been asked by any of the tennis organizers. The contract has made these clauses to avoid being sued by any player who may put the blame on the USTA for any harm they may encounter.

“A wild experience” – Without fans

It is going to be a frightful environment when the biggest tennis stadium in the World has no spectators. The players have been vocal about their concerns over playing in empty stadiums.

Austrian Dominic Thiem, ranked No.3 in the world, said in an interview with CNN Sport, “I think I played 24 Grand Slams now in my career and if you experience it, every day [there are] 50, 60,000 fans on site. With zero fans, it’s tough to imagine.”

While for 23 time Grand slam champion the home player Serena Williams said in an interview with People, “I’ve always played with such a big crowd..Without fans, how will I do? I don’t even know. But I look at it as another experience. A wild experience.”

The next-gen player, young Russian Daniil Medvedev says, “It’s going to be super strange because all of us played junior tournaments or futures, where you play maybe just with your coach and no-one else there. But it’s different, it’s a small court, it’s somewhere indoors in the middle of nowhere.” 

Arthur Ashe Stadium is one of the biggest stadiums in terms of capacity. Thus, having no spectators would create a weird ambiance for the players.

Conclusively, each player will have to make a tough call. It will not be easy for any participant to take part in a grand slam amidst a pandemic. Even though there may be no spectators allowed, still there are a number of other people involved in hosting an event. When the stature of the event is so colossal, the media, sponsors, organizers, and staff involved are numerous.

For every player who sees this slam as an opportunity will have to overcome the obstacles that surround it. For those who choose not to participate, will have to plan their tour to make up for the lost points they could have earned here.

Also Read Top 20 Male players likely to skip US Open 2020 over quarantine rules