Andy Murray has argued for severe penalties for players who break the coronavirus bubble rules during the Cincinnati Open and the US Open to be played later this month.
The USTA has decided to go ahead with the organization of the 2020 US Open despite the increasing cases of coronavirus but are expected to stringent measures in place.
A bio-secure bubble is going to be in place for the players for both these tournaments, to be held in New York, and former world number Murray reckons the organisers must also adopt stringent penalty rules if players are found violating those rules.
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Murray, who has for now agreed to play at both the tournaments, said most players can be expected to follow rules but there could be those who don’t and that could have very serious repercussions for the tour overall. Which is why he wants US Open to take preventive action.
He said:
“I think the majority of players will stick to the rules but it would be silly to expect nobody would break the rules and the protocols. You’ve seen that in the NBA and I think it has happened in the golf, I’m not 100 per cent sure, I could be wrong on that.”
Citing the example of the biggest basketball league in the world, NBA, Murray said the bubble created for the players in that competition hasn’t been too different from what was expected at the US Open. And rules were broken there too.
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He added:
“The USTA is going through a huge effort to try to get this on and make it as safe as possible so if players aren’t abiding by the rules the repercussions should be severe.”
Murray said while he had his own apprehensions of flying to New York, which includes taking a flight for the first time in months, he currently trusts the USTA to come up with a best-possible solution to this challenge. The Scot also said he hasn’t booked the flights which he intended to do the following week.
World number one Ash Barty has already withdrawn from the Western & Southern Open and the US Open opting not to risk the journey from Australia to New York and according to reports more withdrawals are set to follow.
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