By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday August 6, 2020
Former champions Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters have been granted wild cards into the 2020 US Open, the tournament announced on Thursday.
Murray, who won his first major title in New York in 2012, will be joined by a cast of Americans that includes Ulises Blanch, Maxime Cressy, Sebastian Korda, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Michael Mmoh, Brandon Nakashima and JJ Wolf.
Murray, also the 2008 runner-up in New York, has been on the mend from multiple hip surgeries and is currently ranked 129. He is the next player in on the direct entry list so he may actually gain main draw entry if another player withdraws, which would mean the tournament might add another wild card in the weeks to come.
Clijsters, the 2005, 2009 and 2010 champion, will be joined by Americans Usue Arconada, CiCi Bellis, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Caroline Dolehide, Ann Li, Robin Montgomery and Whitney Osuigwe.
Montgomery, at 15, is currently the World No. 600 and the No.5 junior in the world. Bellis, 21, missed nearly 20 months of play while undergoing wrist and elbow surgeries, returning to action in November 2019 and reaching the Australian Open third round in January.
There will be no qualifying at this year’s US Open. Main draw play begins on Monday August 31.