US Open scheduled for August start but it will be like no other

As the world’s elite players baulk at the idea of playing the US Open without their entourages, it could open the way for the next tier.

Rafael Nadal on his way to winning last year’s US Open final in New York City. Picture: AP

Poor old Novak Djokovic cannot fathom the “impossible” horrors of no penthouse suite in Manhattan, no entourage the size of a football team’s support staff, no morning juice shots at his favourite joint on East 53rd Street, no one specialised in stringing his racquets just the way he likes them, no personalised physiotherapist to soothe his muscles and massage his ego, no individual fitness instructor to keep him skinny as a rake, no one to rub his feet, no one to feed him grapes, no one to blow his nose, no one to pump his tyres and no one to tell him where he has to be and when.

Here’s what I’m thinking if I’m John Millman. You little bloody beauty. Because if I’m the world No 42, as Millman is, I’m hoping the top 41 all give it a miss. I’m willing to play the Open in the Flushing Meadows car park if I have to. Just give me a racquet and some shoes. Probably a spare shirt, if you’ve seen how much I sweat. Entourage? I have a shared coach and my missus. Scaling back my support personnel is hardly an issue. If I’m in Millman’s shoes, I’m on the first flight to NYC … grateful that the hogs may give it a miss, more of a chance to win it.

Get your sport fix on Kayo ahead of live games returning soon - classic match replays, documentaries and the latest news & announcements. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

When I put all this to Millman he has a more measured response. There goes the headline. He says the Indian Wells Masters was cancelled in March because of one solitary case of COVID-19 in the Coachella Valley. There’s now been 1.98 million cases in the US, and 378,000 in New York state and 207,000 in New York City. He suggests, is there a less likely place on Earth to host a slam?

“For starters, I’m really trying to get my head around the travel in and out,” he says ahead of this week’s verdict on whether the NYC major goes ahead from August 31. “Because the last thing I want to do is bring the virus back to Australia. People here have been responsible and done the right thing to get on top of it. I hate to think I’d be doing something irresponsible by going to New York at a time like this. If it goes ahead and your name is down to play, you have to go and play. It’s your livelihood. If you don’t go, you’ll pay for it down the track. I just hope a sensible decision is made.”

Says Djokovic: “The rules that they told us that we would have to respect … are extreme. We would not have access to Manhattan. We would have to sleep in airports at the hotel. To be tested twice or three times per week. Also, we could bring one person to the club, which is really impossible. You need your coach, then a fitness trainer, then a physiotherapist.”

Says Millman: “It’s probably trickier for Novak and the like. Their support teams are a heck of a lot bigger than mine. I wouldn’t say the communication from the tours has been amazing, but it’s very tricky for everyone. It wasn’t that long ago that the Louis Armstrong and Arthur Ashe stadiums were makeshift hospitals. Personally, I think it may be a bit too soon for the US Open, but then again the USTA will lose a lot of money if there’s no tournament.

“You need international travel because there’s players coming from all over the world, but that’s probably the worst thing for the virus. It takes a lot of people to run a grand slam event, all that manpower, and to put biosecurity and health measures on top of it all … I’m thinking the French Open (in September) is more likely.”

Millman has slept at a train station when his rankings points have matched his dollars — not enough.

“A lot of tennis players are resilient,” he says. “A lot of us have really been grinding things out on the road, alone, before we’ve had some success. Those restrictions are what I’ve heard, too, and would definitely be a different experience to what we’re used to. You get looked after pretty well at the majors. Players could make it work if they had to.”

If the USTA ploughs forward with its August date, Millman believes Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will all bunk down at the airport hotel and play … because of their race to the most slam victories by a male. Federer has 20, Nadal has 19, Djokovic has 17 … and they all have a burning desire to bury the other two.

“If the tournament is on, I think their temptation will be to play it. They’re chasing records. They’re looking at how many majors they’ve won, and how many majors the other two have won. They’re building their legacies around the majors. You’d be silly to think they don’t have that in the backs of their minds.”