While the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells (March 8 to 19) and Miami (March 22 to April 2) are fast approaching, Novak Djokovic still does not know if the American government will grant him exceptional authorization to enter on American soil despite his non-vaccination against Covid.
And like California tournament director Tommy Haas a few weeks ago who felt it would be a shame if the world number one was not allowed to come, Florida tournament boss James Blake spoke at length for the Miami Herald in order to take stock of this rather implausible situation.
“The rules officially change on May 11, so we’ve requested a waiver based on the fact that there doesn’t appear to be any imminent danger to him playing. They have set the date for May 11 and we have a schedule to stick to. We can’t hold the Miami Open after May 11 but we would like our greatest champion to be there. We highlighted the fact that it would be good for the economy, for the Miami community and for tennis fans around the world who want to see the greatest player in our sport play right now. It’s getting late, so it doesn’t seem as likely, but we’ve done everything possible to try and get him an exemption. We’ll see if it’s effective, but unfortunately it’s beyond our control. He’s on the entry list. We would like him to play. He has already won six times here and we would like him to have the opportunity to win seven. We did what we could. »
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 4:21 PM
