Roberto Bautista Agut: I will play tournaments in United States if they take place

World No. 12 Roberto Bautista Agut revealed he targeted to play star-studded exhibition because he wanted to face some tough competition ahead of the Tour restart.

Bautista Agut, who made the semifinal at Wimbledon last year, returned to competitive action in June at an exhibition event in Alicante, before he played at Thiem's and both legs of the Berlin exhibition.

"My planning has been based on looking for top-level tournaments: tournaments that most closely resemble ATP tournaments," Bautista Agut said, as quoted on Punto de Break. "I've been testing with a new racket, testing a few things. I wanted to try playing with that new racket on different surfaces, see how I was going. In the end, I decided to go back to my usual racket."

"Yes, it is true that I am a person who adapts quickly to competition, someone who normally returns to competition quite well, but this break is different. It has been a few months, a long time away. That is why I have decided to compete a lot over the last few weeks, to give a rhythm of competition to my preparation for many days of training and I think that will come in handy for the coming weeks," Bautista Agut said.

Bautista Agut willing to play in the United States 

The Citi Open in Washington was canceled but the plans to stage the Cincinnati Masters and US Open in New York, in a bubble, are ongoing. 

"I have never been desperate to return. I am a fairly calm guy. if you can play -- well, if you cannot play -- I accept it too. I am not a nervous person who is at home climbing the walls. Yes, it is true that our work is to compete, and I'm the first one who wants everything to return to normal," Bautista Agut said.

The US Open is scheduled to take place from August 31 - September 13 and the organizers are preparing a list of strict hygiene rules.

A number of players have complained about the restrictions but the US Open organizers are keen on organizing the event as safely as possible.

"I prefer to come back as soon as possible. It will always be positive for us that events like Cincinnati or US Open are played: it is better that they are played than not played. If the American tour goes forward, I will go and play," Bautista Agut revealed.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/32VD1ON