Murray, Clijsters get US Open wild cards

LONDON — Former champions Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters were on Thursday both handed wild cards for the US Open which will take place under strict health guidelines in New York from August 31.

Former world number one Murray, currently ranked 129 after a lengthy period battling a hip injury, narrowly missed direct entry.

The 33-year-old won the first of his three Grand Slam titles at the 2012 US Open, becoming the first British male to win a major since Fred Perry in 1936.

Clijsters will be looking to repeat her magic from the 2009 US Open, when she famously won the women's singles title as a wild card after returning from an initial retirement, during which she became a mother.

The three-time US Open champion (2005, 200910), who came out of a more than seven-year retirement earlier in 2020, will be playing the US Open for the first time since she stepped away from the game following the 2012 tournament.

The 37-year-old, who was also Australian Open winner in 2011, is unranked.

Seven American women also received wild cards - Usue Arconada, CiCi Bellis, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Caroline Dolehide, Ann Li, Robin Montgomery and Whitney Osuigwe.

The men's wild card list also includes American players Ulises Blanch, Maxime Cressy, Sebastian Korda, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Michael Mmoh, Brandon Nakashima and JJ Wolf

Nothing is likely to be decided while Bayern are still in Europe, yet both are in great form.

Alaba, 28, who joined as a teenager in 2008, has been dubbed "the black Franz Beckenbauer" by Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge for his outstanding displays at centre-back this season.

With right-back Benjamin Pavard injured, Joshua Kimmich has switched back into defence with his central midfield place going to Thiago, who was outstanding in last Friday's 1-0 friendly win over Marseille.

Last week, Rummenigge revealed Alcantara has signalled "that he wants to do something new", but so far no club has made an offer for the 29-year-old.

Having joined from Barcelona in 2013, under former Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, Alcantara has won the German league title in each of his seven seasons in Munich.

Rummenigge has made it clear neither will leave cheaply, "despite the coronavirus, there will not be a summer sale at FC Bayern", who reportedly want at least 30 million euros ($35 million) for Alcantara and more for Alaba.

However, for now it is just "important that both concentrate on the Champions League, then we will decide in peace," added Rummenigge.