It’s only just a matter of weeks before the ATP Tour resumes its season with the Western & Southern Open in New York.
The tournament is set to be a star-studded affair, with most of the top players in attendance. That list now includes three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray, who has been awarded a wild card for the event.
Elsewhere, though, the Madrid Open scheduled for September looks set to be cancelled due to a new outbreak of COVID-19 in the Spanish capital.
SBOBET is here to serve up all the important bits of ATP 2020 news ahead of the season restart later this month.
Andy Murray awarded wild card for Western & Southern Open
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray has been awarded one of the four wild cards for the Western & Southern Open. Americans Tommy Paul, Tennys Sandgren, and Frances Tiafoe received the other three slots.
Murray is a former two-time winner of the Cincinnati Masters, winning it back in 2008 and 2011. He has a 31-12 career singles record in the tournament.
The 33-year-old underwent major hip surgery in January 2019, which cast doubt about his ability to continue his career. But he made a comeback in June, first playing singles then returning to singles action.
Murray also made it as a wild card in last year’s Western & Southern Open. He lost to Richard Gasquet in the first round in straight sets, but he did go on to win a title in Antwerp in October.
Murray’s presence will provide even more star power to a main draw that will feature a number of the top-ranked players in the world as the Tour returns to action.
Top players to take part in Western & Southern Open
The Western & Southern Open will see big names such as World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Rafael Nadal headline a star-studded field.
Aside from those two, three other former champions will contest this year’s crown: Daniil Medvedev, who won his first career Masters 1000 title last year, Grigor Dimitrov, and Marin Cilic.
The ATP 2020 betting odds will have Djokovic and Nadal as the clear favourites, but World No. 3 Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev can give the top two a major challenge.
The women’s side will also not be short of star power, with five former champions — Serena Williams, Madison Keys, Kiki Bertens, Garbine Muguruza, and Karolina Pliskova — among those ready to battle it out for the title.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old phenom Coco Gauff looks set to make her first career appearance in the tournament.
One notable big-name absentee in New York will be Roger Federer, who will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing another procedure on his knee. The Swiss holds the record for most ever titles at the Cincinnati Masters with seven.
Madrid Open set to get cancelled
The ATP Tour may finally be set to restart after a long break due to COVID-19, but the pandemic is still far from causing disruptions to the schedule.
This time, it looks like the Mutua Madrid Open, which is scheduled in September after the US Open, is set to get cancelled due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Madrid, according to reports.
In an official statement, the organisers of the event reveal that they’ve been advised not to push through with the event with the situation “deteriorating day by day.”
“In the last meeting, on 29 July, due to the increase in cases of covid-19 in Madrid in recent days, the organisers of the Mutua Madrid Open stated their concerns about being able to stage the tournament free from health complications that might affect the players, fans and staff. In view of this situation, the organisers of the Mutua Madrid Open requested the help of Antonio Zapatero, Deputy Secretary of Public Health, and were advised not to stage the tournament due to the current trend of covid-19 cases.”
However, they have yet to officially call the tournament off and are still “analysing and closely evaluating all the possible options.”
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal had committed earlier in July to play in the Madrid Open as his participation in the US Open looked unclear. But with Madrid looking unlikely and Nadal also set to play in the Western & Southern Open, there’s now a good chance Nadal will take part in the US Open.
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