Martina Navratilova: I won’t view the 2020 US Open winners differently

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova says she does not think the US Open this year will be devalued due to the absence of several of the big names from the US Open draw.

Six of the Top 10 players on the women's side and  3 of the Top 10 on the men's side have withdrawn from the tournament.

On the women's side, World No. 1 Ash Barty, World No. 2 Simona Halep, World No. 5 Elina Svitolina, defending US Open champion and World No. 6 Bianca Andreescu, World No. 7 Kiki Bertens and World No. 8 Belinda Bencic have all pulled out from the event either due to injury or concerns about travelling.

Former US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, former French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko and former Top 10 players Andrea Petkovic and Carla Suarez Navarro have also withdrawn from the tournament.

On the men's side, World No. 2 and defending champion Rafael Nadal, Frenchman Gael Monfils and three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka have also pulled out of the tournament. 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has also withdrawn due to a knee injury and has said that he will not play again this season bit will return to the circuit in 2021.

The US Open is scheduled to begin in New York on August 31st. 

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova says US Open will not have an asterisk for her

Speaking to the BBC, the 18-time Grand Slam champion says, "I won’t view the winners differently, there won’t be an asterisk."

“We know in the long term that 2020 is different but everybody is in the same situation and we will see who makes the most of it.”

Navratilova added that in the past, several Grand Slams had seen top players not participate but that it did not devalue the winners of those events. 

“It is obviously a bit easier for the winner because they don’t have that many top players there, especially on the women’s side."

“But they didn’t put an asterisk at Wimbledon 1973 when most of the players didn’t play because of a boycott and they don’t put one by the Australian Open when a lot of the players didn’t go there."

Martina Navratilova has won 16 singles & doubles titles combined at the US Open. She is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time and is currently a leading tennis analyst on television.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/31FOBwx