Andy Murray deems revised ATP calendar unsafe for players

The ATP tour is set restart on August 14 with the Citi Open, followed by the Cincinnati Masters, which will be held at Flushing Meadows before the U.S. Open.

"Its not safe for players to go from the semifinals or final in New York... and then play in Madrid at altitude on clay when they havent competed for a long time," Murray told a news conference during the 'Battle of the Brits' charity tournament.

Three-times Grand Slam champion Andy Murray said on Saturday the ATP's revised calendar which includes seven tournaments in as many weeks is not safe for players, who will be forced to skip major events due to the crammed schedule.

The ATP tour, which was suspended in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, is set restart on August 14 with the Citi Open, followed by the Cincinnati Masters, which will be held at Flushing Meadows before the US Open.

The men's claycourt swing will start on September 8 in Kitzbuhel followed by Masters tournaments in Madrid and Rome on September 13 and Rome Masters on September 20, with the French Open set to begin a week later.

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"Its not safe for players to go from the semifinals or final in New York... and then play in Madrid at altitude on clay when they havent competed for a long time," Murray told a news conference during the 'Battle of the Brits' charity tournament.

"You're going to have the potential where a lot of top players are not competing at many of the biggest events."

Murray's concerns were echoed by Rafael Nadal's uncle and long-time former coach Toni.

"I have spoken to Rafa and he is doubting which tournaments to play. The schedule is unrealistic, especially for veteran players, who cannot compete for so many weeks in a row.

“I think it is a bit ugly what the ATP has done. This decision is totally against players like Rafa and Novak Djokovic.”

Murray (33) said with events coming thick and fast changes would need to be made with respect to players' ranking points.

"It might be worth looking at a two-year ranking for the time being maybe so that guys who have done well last year and are sort of not really able to defend their points properly arent kind of punished," the twice Wimbledon champion said.

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Murray suggested he will skip the tournament in Cincinnati to get his preparations for the U.S. Open in order.

"I would rather play Washington and miss the event the week before at the U.S. Open if they all go ahead," he added.

Murray returned to action following a seven-month injury layoff at the charity event - the Schroders Battle of the Brits - organised by his brother Jamie this week, progressing to the semifinals before losing 1-6 6-3 10-8 to Dan Evans.