John McEnroe believes that Novak Djokovic is likely to compete at both the US Open and at Roland Garros, provided that he is healthy, but he thinks that Rafael Nadal could skip the US Open.
The 2020 ATP season is set to restart next August after a five-month break due to the covid-19 pandemic. The US Open will start on 31st August and end on 13th September. The French Open has been rescheduled from 27th September to 11th October.
“I believe and this is just my feeling, the top players are going to play both. They have been sitting there and I am assuming most of the top players and some of the younger ones are chomping at the bit to get back out on the court, to compete and see what they have got. You are talking about two of the three majors that remain, that is a huge deal for the players. It has been done before and it won’t affect more than a couple of players. Obviously we presume and hope Novak will be fine and able to compete if he chooses to do so at the US Open”, said McEnroe.
Rafael Nadal will face the tough challenge to defend both Grand Slam titles at the US Open and Roland Garros and the Masters 1000 trophy in Rome in one month. The Spaniard beat Dominic Thiem in the Roland Garros final becoming the first men’s or women’s player to win a Grand Slam event 12 times (Margaret Court won the Australian Open 11 times). Nadal beat Danil Medvedev in five sets to win his fourth US Open title in New York. According to McEnroe the 19-time Grand Slam champion may take a difficult decision to skip the US Open to focus on his attempt to win the 13th Grand Slam title of his career.
“Rafa is the one you would think that might be a bit tricky for him from hard to clay. That’s not something he likes to do or has done very often. It will be interesting to see if some European players decide not to come over to the USA because of some concerns over renewed outbreaks and it seems as though New York is doing much better. Who knows what is going to happen in the next months. I think it can be done and it sounds as tough they have set it up in a way that is extremely safe and the few people that will be allowed in. I would be surprised if the top players certainly, they have the right not to play, but I would be surprised if they don’t play”, continued McEnroe.
