At last, ATP tennis is back. But, hang on a minute, what now?
After six months without tour-level competition, it’s certainly tricky trying to predict what’s about to unfold.
Clearly what isn’t going to happen is that every player simply returns to the form level they were at when the curtain was brought down on tour by the COVID-19 pandemic in March.
For a start, several have opted not to compete in the virus hot-spot which is the USA, including Rafael Nadal.
Those who will compete from Saturday in this Masters 1000 tournament – moved from its regular home in Cincinnati to New York to keep players in a bio-secure ‘bubble’ ahead of the forthcoming US Open – have endured wildly different periods of ‘lockdown’.
Some have spent that period in multiple countries, playing against some of the world’s best players on a regular basis – think Dominic Thiem.
Others, however, have been largely stuck in their home nation with a very limited range of opponent to play or even practise with.
The former group should have a considerable advantage this week, and potentially in weeks to come.
Another trait I’m looking for in a potential champion is the ability to start fast after a break.
Granted, not too many players have previously had a gap of six months between matches but the off-season does provide some sort of yardstick on this count.
A track record of wins at Flushing Meadows, home of the US Open, would be a bonus, although far from essential given a new surface has been introduced this year.
Gone is the DecoTurf II from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center where the courts are now Laykold, the surface having only been laid earlier this month.
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