Thiem joins revolt over US Open

LEADING male tennis players continue to heap pressure on the US Open to relax their Covid-19 protocols if they want them to turn up for the suggested return to action. Dominic Thiem (below) and Alex Zverev joined Novak Djokovic in expressing reservations about travelling to New York in late August. They are perturbed by the thought of being confined to one hotel and being allowed to bring only one member of support staff to the tournament. ‘Some circumstances will have to change to make sense to go there,’ said world No 4 Thiem as he prepared to return to action at the opening round of Djokovic’s Adria Tour in Belgrade this weekend. ‘To only be allowed to take one person... Grand Slams can be pretty demanding physically.’ Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov offered a similar sentiment, although their expression of health concerns were undermined by a lack of social distancing at the event they are about to play in, albeit after regulations were relaxed in Serbia. There have also been videos of the players mobbing each other after scoring goals in a football match between the tournament’s participants. Djokovic is leading attempts to persuade players not to venture to New York under the current strictures and prefers the option of restarting on clay in Madrid in early September. A decision on the US Open is expected early next week but indications are that the US Tennis Association wants it to go ahead, regardless of the possibility that the field will be depleted. British players return to action a week on Tuesday at the ‘Battle of the Brits’ in Roehampton, featuring the country’s top eight players. The singles round-robin groups were drawn yesterday.

Tim Henman Group: Kyle Edmund, Andy Murray, Liam Broady, James Ward.

Greg Rusedski Group: Dan Evans, Cam Norrie, Jay Clarke, Jack Draper.