Novak Djokovic trains with the US Open balls!

The World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is training in Marbella on hard-courts. A clear sign that the winner of the last Australian Open is intending to be present at the next US Open and perhaps also at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 scheduled at Flushing Meadows, if the two events will be played.

A revelation by Rennae Stubbs, a former Australian tennis player, could cheer the US Open board: it would seem that Djokovic has purchased a supply of the Wilson balls that will be used at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Stubbs said that this could mean that Novak will participate to the tournament: "Of course there is still no certainty of this and we will see what will happen in the coming weeks. The good news is that the decrease in the number of new cases of COVID-19 in New York is it was awesome," she said.

With the absence of Roger Federer, still recovering after the knee operation, and the now certain one of Rafael Nadal, the Serb would become even more favorite for the final victory of the tournament. A possible success in New York would allow him to further reduce the gap with his two great rivals: Djokovic is in fact at 17 Slams, Nadal at 19 and Federer at 20.

However, there is still great uncertainty about the upcoming US Open. It is not yet certain whether the tournament will actually take place due to a health situation in the USA, which is bringing together to worry health professionals, players and organizers of the New York Slam. Many European tennis players, due to this uncertainty, seem oriented towards skipping the American slam. Above all Rafa Nadal, who could return to play directly in Europe in the short season on clay-courts.

Djokovic training in Marbella. He is definitely aiming at playing the US Open pic.twitter.com/hExTBqIUea

— Luke (@Luke16572469) July 26, 2020

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The Serbian champion would benefit from this situation because he will maintain 2,860 points: 1000 as champion of the Mutua Madrid Open, 720 as semifinalist of Roland Garros, 600 as finalist in Rome and 540 added between Cincinnati and Roland Garros.

However, Nole could further increase his lead at the top of the ranking, as Djokovic could accumulate 4,640 points in confirmed tournaments in the event that he is champion in Washington (500), Cincinnati (640 more than last year), US Open ( 1820 more points), Rome (400 more) and Roland Garros (1280 more).

This measure could help Novak Djokovic to approach the absolute record of weeks as number one in the ranking which is currently held by Roger Federer with 310 weeks. Djokovic is third with 282, four fewer than Sampras, after the rankings were frozen on March 22nd.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Ep8oHb