Agut may skip US Open with Djokovic

World No. 12 Roberto Bautista Agut has admitted he is not a fan of the US Open’s proposed strict hygiene restrictions.

“I do not agree with certain measures,” Bautista Agut told Eurosport.

“There are players for whom the physical trainer is very important, like the physiotherapist. Limiting the staff to only one coach seems to me to be a measure that will be difficult to pass.”

The USTA has been putting in place to to safely organise the US Open with quarantine systems, players in one hotel, and strict limits on support staff.

“I will not accept it,” Agut said.

Even if the tournament puts a physiotherapist at your disposal, not having your physiotherapist with you at the hotel is not possible.

“I agree with Novak. Of course, his team is perhaps more important to him that teams are important to the others.

“There will be no fans, so we may well have one or two more members per team. I think we need to bring this up to the Players Council in order to lobby for better conditions.”

Djokovic was the first big name to criticise the US Open’s hygiene restrictions.

“The rules that they told us that we would have to respect to be there, to play at all, they are extreme. We would not have access to Manhattan, we would have to sleep in hotels at the airport, to be tested twice or three times per week,” Djokovic said.

The event is still scheduled to take place from August 31 – September 13.

Peter Rowe

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