U.S. Open latest news, 2008 July 18
Posted on July 18, 2008
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Roger Federer will attempt to break his own record for consecutive titles to five in New York, while Rafael Nadal hopes to add a first hardcourt Grand Slam to his growing collection of Major trophies.
Last year’s runner-up Novak Djokovic and British number one Andy Murray join world number one Federer and world number two Nadal on the list of players for the August 25 to September 7 tournament.
British number one Andy Murray has withdrawn from next week’s Indianapolis Tennis Championships to better prepare for the Olympics and the U.S. Open. The 21-year-old has returned to the world’s top 10 after reaching the quarter-finals at this year’s Wimbledon where he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal of Spain.
Former winners Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin are also part of the field that includes nine past Grand Slam champions, while Juan Carlos Ferrero is the only other previous tennis finalist in this year’s tournament.
World number 103 Sergio Roitman was the 104th and final player to receive direct entry into the men’s field. Organizers will award eight wild cards and the 16 remaining entries will be decided by a qualifying tournament.
Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are among the five past U.S. Open women’s champions in the tournament field announced Thursday.
Lindsay Davenport and Svetlana Kuznetsova are the other previous winners entered in the hard-court Grand Slam tournament.
Both the men’s and women’s champions will receive $1.5 million (£750,000) in prize money with a chance to earn up to $2.5 million (£1.25 million) in bonus money on the basis of results in the North American summer hardcourt series.
Swiss world number one Roger Federer claimed the largest payoff in tennis history, 2.4 million dollars, for winning both the US Open Series and the Flushing Meadows tennis title last year.
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