2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic is set to miss the upcoming Grand Slam due to a knee injury. Denis Shapovalov has also been ruled out from the Flushing Meadows slam for the same reason. Canadian Shapovalov hasn’t played since his fourth-round loss against Roman Safiullin at Wimbledon. On the other hand, Cilic last played at the Croatia Open in July, where he suffered a round of 32 defeat to Italian Flavio Cobolli. The Croatian hasn’t participated in a Grand Slam all year as his world ranking dropped to no 121.
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Shapovalov’s best result at a Grand Slam came two years ago when he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. Cilic won the US Open in 2014 and has won Grand Slams at Flushing Meadows and the Australian Open. He also finished runners-up at Wimbledon in 2017. This led to a career-high ranking of no 3 in the world for the Croatian.
Speaking about his decision to withdraw from the tournament, Shapovalov insisted that he tried everything to be healthy in time for the US Open but, it wasn’t to be. He said on Twitter, “Despite doing everything possible to be 100% healthy in time for @usopen, my knee needs more time and I sadly have to withdraw. That grand slam energy, especially in NYC, is unlike anything else and I’m really going to miss playing in front of the amazing fans there this year!”
Venus Williams set for return to US Open as a wildcard
American tennis icon Venus Williams is set for her 24th US Open appearance after she received a wildcard from the US Tennis Association. She returned to competing in professional tennis this year after being sidelined through injury for six months. It seems that the 43-year-old still has it in her as she recorded a top-20 win this week in a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Veronika Kudermotova at the Western and Southern Open. This is her first top-20 win in over four years.
