'No one assures you that Rafael Nadal was going to win it', says analyst

Until a couple of months ago, very few would have bet that the US Open 2020 would have been staged. Alongside the improvement in the global situation, the enormous effort made by the USTA to organize the New York Grand Slam in complete safety should be noted. In this sense, the decision to move the Cincinnati Masters 1000 to Flushing Meadows was decidedly appropriate, so as to avoid a further move for the players. It goes without saying that the absences of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be heavy, but Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams will be the main reasons for interest in the tournament. The Serbian phenomenon is on the hunt for his 18th career Slam, while Serena continues to chase the Margaret Court record. Interviewed exclusively by Marca, Alex Corretja analyzed the resumption of the circuit after the long stop caused by the pandemic.

Corretja on the US Open

“I honestly do understand it. I have not spoken with him but he will have assessed where the best options are to win a Grand Slam again, at the US Open or at Roland Garros," Alex Corretja said. "If he continues to prepare, he thinks he will get to Paris better. The change of surface is saved. After six months without competing, it's not easy to start playing five sets on the hard court. Rafael Nadal's decision is correct for me," Corretja added. "If there had been more time between the two Majors, I would have been in both. In addition, I knew before that if I did not play the US Open, the 2,000 points of last year's champion will keep them. It is true that he loses the option of adding another Grand Slam, but no one assures you that he was going to win it and there is always the risk of injury. What is evident is that you cannot act thinking of the other," Corretja said. "Everyone is going to have a hard time winning. Djokovic, for example, has done the same analysis of Rafa. You've thought: 'Where do I have more options at the US Open or Roland Garros?' The first tournament there was was the US Open because that's where it has gone. If there had been Roland Garros before, it would have to be seen what he would have done. I don't see Novak Djokovic being an outright favorite to win the trophy," the Spaniard said. "The courts are very fast although they also say that the center court is less so. It is all very strange and there will surely be different results than what we are used to. You will see how tennis players that we had not expected five months ago slip through. Nobody knows how your body and your mind will react, especially the body because when they play three games in a row to see how they recover" - Corretja finished.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/32sHXc4