US Open: John McEnroe is again in favor of Novak Djokovic participating in New York

So far there has been no final decision regarding the participation of the 21-time Grand Slam winner in the last major tournament of the year. Rather, a recent easing of health restrictions in the United States had raised hopes in the Serb’s camp that Djokovic might be allowed into the country after all. Because it is generally assumed that this easing will soon be followed by a relaxation of travel restrictions.

But it is also clear that the US Open is not a priority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Unvaccinated players are not strictly excluded from participating in Flushing Maedows, but the tournament organizers do not advocate the entry of such players.

“That sucks,” McEnroe told Fox. “I think he should be allowed to play. I’m vaccinated, I got a booster shot. But that’s up to you,” continued the four-time US Open winner.

McEnroe says that Djokovic is important for the US Open because of his sporting merits. “He’s won a lot more majors than I have because he pushed himself and found that will that very few people in the sport have ever found. That’s part of what made him great.”

For McEnroe, the recent easing of internal restrictions and social distancing guidelines in the US is only adding to the frustration of unvaccinated travelers who would not benefit from the easing.

Djokovic doesn’t want to repeat Australia saga

According to McEnroe, Djokovic has the right “to make his own decision” – also with regard to a corona vaccination. Djokovic is just “very careful with everything he puts in his body”, so it is incomprehensible “when I’m sitting here at a football game in Los Angeles and he’s not allowed to enter the country because he’s not vaccinated”.

After the ordeal at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, Djokovic only wants to enter the USA if it is certain that he will be allowed to enter the country.

“I will not travel to America unless I have permission. The saga in Australia was not comfortable for me,” Djokovic said recently. “I have my stance, I’m a freedom advocate. I respect everything and everyone and I expect people to at least respect my decision. If I have permission, I’m in. If not, I won’t be there – that’s then no end of the world either.”