Former world No.1 Andy Murray will start his American hard-court season against Mackenzie McDonald at the Citi Open next week.
Murray, who now finds himself ranked 838th in the world due to his injury-related absence from the tour, managed to enter the tournament with the help of a wild card. The British player has only played in two tournaments since starting his comeback from hip surgery in June. At Queen’s he lost in the first round to Nick Kyrgios before defeating Stan Wawrinka the following week at the Eastbourne Open.
Finalizing his preparations at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, venue of the Citi Open, Murray met Wayne Rooney earlier in the week. Rooney spent 13 years playing for Manchester United, but now plays Major League Soccer for D.C. United.
The 31-year-old also played some football himself. Albeit in a somewhat different fashion to what Rooney is use to.
Andy and Jamie Murray playing some soccer tennis with Wayne Rooney (in red). pic.twitter.com/7r3P6SNcm9
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 27, 2018
In the draw, Murray could play compatriot Kyle Edmund in the second round in what will a chance for him to get revenge. Murray lost to Edmund in the second round at Eastbourne.
Another player on the comeback trail is Wawrinka. The three-time grand slam champion is hoping to turn his fortunes around during the North American swing of the tour. Wawrinka, who has been hampered by problems with his knee in recent months, hasn’t won back-to-back matches since February.
“The goal is to take these three tournaments – Washington, Toronto and Cincinnati – to get in shape for Flushing Meadows (US Open), where good memories will come back whatever happens,” he told Swiss website 24 hours.
https://twitter.com/CitiOpen/status/1022869285813805056
Wawrinka will start his campaign at the Citi Open against a qualifier.
This year’s field will be headed by Alexander Zverev. There is 16 seeded players in the draw with seven of those currently ranked in the world’s top 20.
