Patrick Mouratoglou: US Open must not turn into national championships for US

Coach Patrick Mouratoglou underlines the US Open must address some of players' concerns as playing the US Open and then being in a 14-day quarantine won't be welcomed by any player. 

A number of players have had difficult time commiting to the US Open as they fear they might have to undergo mandatory quarantine upon returning to Europe.

"If there is a quarantine it will mean that players cannot play Madrid and Rome," Mouratoglou told Reuters.

"But if they can't play Madrid and Rome and have to be quarantined that would mean they're sitting in an apartment for two weeks right before playing a Grand Slam on clay which sounds a bit crazy."

Also, Mouratoglou says the US Open needs to address some of players' concerns regarding possible travel restrictions.

"Now I see that the situation in New York is getting better, much better," Mouratoglou said. "But at the same time I think it's very much about travel restrictions...

"If the USTA (United States Tennis Association) is able to give proper answers to those questions, and I understand that it's difficult, maybe the U.S. Open will have a higher chance to be held.

"What about the South Americans? Are they now allowed to travel or not? What about the Australians? You can't have a Grand Slam which is the National US championships, right? So, we have to know."

Mouratoglou says Serena Williams also faces uncertainty 

Mouratoglou, the coach of 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams, says just because the former world No. 1 is in the United States right now doesn't mean that she would be able to go to Europe after the US Open and avoid a mandatory quarantine.

"Serena's in the same situation as probably all the people who are going to play the US Open," Mouratoglou said.

"Technically I don't know if a player who has been to the US and Serena's living there, is able to travel to Europe without the restrictions.

"So again this question need to be answered for all the players, including Serena. If Serena wants to play Europe, and she definitely wants to play Europe, she now needs to know if she can."

The Citi Open in Washington, scheduled for August 14, was canceled but the US Open organizers plan to proceed with the event as initially scheduled from August 31 - September 13.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2P4zxkQ