Novak Djokovic with a thoughtful expression. © APA / afp / ADRIAN DENNIS
After his Wimbledon final victory, Novak Djokovic made it clear that he was not vaccinated and would not be vaccinated. This threatens him with the end of the next Grand Slam tournament.
July 11, 2022
From: apa/dpa
Despite continuing to refrain from vaccination against the corona virus, Novak Djokovic has not yet given up hope of entering the USA for the US Open. “I’m not vaccinated and I don’t plan to be vaccinated,” said the 35-year-old after winning his seventh title at Wimbledon. His only option is that the obligation to vaccinate is overturned or that he receives an exception.
“I’ll be waiting for hopefully good news from the US because I would really love to go there. That would probably be the next big tournament, the next big momentum, playing a tournament or two beforehand and then the US Open,” explained the Serb.
“I doubt I’ll be chasing points for the world rankings.”
Novak Djokovic
The last Grand Slam tournament of the year in New York begins on August 29th. Most recently, the obligation to test before entering the USA was overturned, but with a few exceptions, vaccination against the corona virus is still a prerequisite for entering the country. “If it doesn’t work out, I would have to see what my schedule will look like,” said Djokovic. He probably won’t play smaller tournaments. “To be honest, I doubt I’ll be chasing points for the world rankings.”
Since there were no points to be won at Wimbledon due to the ban against Russian and Belarusian players, Djokovic will slip from third to seventh in the new world rankings. However, he assumes that his 21st Grand Slam title will qualify him for the ATP Finals in November.
His coach Goran Ivanisevic is still hoping to start at the US Open. “Maybe (President Joe) Biden will change his mind,” said the former Wimbledon champion. “If he flies to the States, it’s wonderful. If he doesn’t fly to the States, what can we do? There are other tournaments. There are a lot of crazy things happening in the world. Every day something changes, something new happens. We see what will happen. It’s still a month and a half.”
