The countdown to the US Open is well and truly on. August 28th is the start date for the final Grand Slam of the year. There is much to be excited about in the men’s singles, as World #1 Carlos Alcaraz defends his maiden Grand Slam. But there will be many players seeking to stop him, with Novak Djokovic the most obvious contender.
Unfortunately, there have already been four withdrawals announced from the men’s singles at the US Open. But there are also other players with worrying injury concerns. None of these men have withdrawn from Flushing Meadows, but it is not certain they will be fit in time.
Six Players Uncertain for US Open Due to Injuries
Andy Murray
Murray was of course the 2012 champion in New York. The Briton has played some of his best tennis this year since he began playing with a metal hip. But frustratingly he suffered a recurrence of an abdominal injury during last week’s Toronto Masters. This led to Murray withdrawing from that tournament and also from this week’s Cincinnati Masters, where he had been due to play Karen Khachanov.
Murray has not made an official statement about his Cincinnati withdrawal. However he did say the following after his forced exit from Toronto: “I had a very similar issue last year in the tournament in Stuttgart before Wimbledon which forced me to miss the Queen’s Club Tournament, and I was able to play Wimbledon. It took me about 10 to 12 days before I was feeling good again. This is not as bad as that… I’ll need to see how it develops over the coming days and hopefully feel better in a few days.”
The three-time Grand Slam winner sounded somewhat hopeful in that statement, but his US Open involvement is not a guarantee.
Karen Khachanov
As mentioned previously, Murray had been due to face Karen Khachanov in Cincinnati. But the world #11 has now also withdrawn. There has been no statement from Khachanov as of the time of this article. However, he has not played in any tournaments since the French Open over two months ago. This is due to an injury that the US Open semifinalist sustained whilst competing at Roland Garros, where he reached the quarterfinals. Khachanov announced in a statement before Wimbledon that he had suffered a stress fracture and a partial fracture in his sacrum S1 bone in his hip and groin.
The tournaments in August were the original aim for Khachanov’s return. After missing the two Masters events this month, it remains to be seen if he will recover in time for New York.
Denis Shapovalov
The current world #22 Shapovalov has not played since Wimbledon. The Canadian was struggling with a knee injury during his run at SW19, where he reached the fourth round. After the pain became “unbearable” during his loss to Roman Safiullin, Shapovalov said it was likely he would take some time away from tennis to do a full recovery on his troublesome knee. That is exactly what he ended up doing.
It does appear this recovery has taken slightly longer than expected, with the 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist subsequently withdrawing from both his home Masters tournament in Canada and Cincinnati. There is no concrete news about how likely he is to be ready for Flushing Meadows.
Kei Nishikori
The return of 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori had been one of the most warming stories of 2023. The Japanese star came back from 20 months out with an awful knee injury. His comeback had been going successfully, including a Challenger Tour title in Palmas Del Mar. Sadly though Nishikori had a setback with his knee during his ATP Tour return in Atlanta. He subsequently withdrew from the ATP 500 event in Washington. Nishikori’s latest withdrawal is from this week’s Stanford Challenger, where the 12-time ATP titlist was due to test the durability of his bothersome knee.
Hopefully it is just a minor complication for a man who has been through enough injury problems, and we see him back at the US Open.
Roberto Bautista Agut
World #37 Bautista Agut’s last tournament was on the clay courts of Gstaad nearly a month ago. It was reported that the Spaniard suffered a freak injury last month while attending to the horses that he owns. That prevented him from defending the Kitzbuhel Open title that he won last year. But he is yet to return since then, and he has now withdrawn from the Winston-Salem Open, which takes place a week before the US Open.
It is worrying that the 11-time ATP champion is withdrawing from a tournament that is so close to the last Grand Slam of the year. It may just be a precaution, but the full details are currently unknown.
Milos Raonic
Former Wimbledon finalist Raonic is another man who returned after a huge injury lay-off. Last week was memorable for him, beating Francis Tiafoe and Taro Daniel at his home Masters event, creating memories that made his huge effort to return to tennis worth it. But Raonic then withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters this week. It is possible that the Canadian is just being cautious to be fully prepared for the US Open. However, a setback is not out of the question for a man who has been so unlucky with injuries.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
