London: Former World No.1 Andy Murray has confirmed he will be participating at this year’s US Open if it goes ahead as planned. The US Open is currently scheduled to be held from August 31 with the Cincinnati Open being held at the Flushing Meadows before that from August 22.
Top tennis stars, both men and women, have pulled out of the Slam due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in New York but Murray stated he is willing to take the risk to participate at the tournament.
“I love playing the biggest events,” Murray told reporters as per The Guardian. “Even though this will be different, with no fans. But that is something I care about and I’m willing to take a risk to go and play.”
Injuries have created problems for Murray lately and according to his own admission, he has missed a lot of big-ticket tournaments because of it. The Scot accepted he doesn’t know for how long he can keep going and wants to make the most of his time on the court.
“I’ve missed it, missed it a lot,” the 33-year-old said. “The situation I’ve been in the last few years, I’ve not had opportunity to play in many slams. I don’t know how many I’ll have left.
“So, while I’m feeling relatively decent…obviously there is a risk there, but I want to try and play in them and enjoy the biggest events again,” he added.
Earlier, Australia tennis star Nick Kyrgios and world no. 1 women’s player Ashleigh Barty also pulled out of the Grand Slam in New York citing COVID-19 issues in the city.
