(CNN) — The all-time great tennis player, Novak Djokovic, says he “does not regret” giving up the world number one spot to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and having to miss Indian Wells and the Miami Open in the United States this month. .
Djokovic is not allowed to travel to the US due to his decision not to get vaccinated against covid-19.
On Monday, Djokovic ceded the top men’s singles ranking, which the 35-year-old has held more weeks than any other player, to the 19-year-old Spaniard after he was forced to miss Indian Wells. Djokovic will also miss the Miami Open this week.
“No, I don’t regret it,” Djokovic said in an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson. “I have learned throughout life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past. And I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to live too long in the future. I want to be as much in the present moment as possible, but of course to think about the future, to create a better future.
“So I congratulate Alcaraz. He absolutely deserves to go back to number one,” Djokovic said.
“It’s a shame I couldn’t play in Indian Wells, or in [el Abierto de] Miami. I love those tournaments. There I was very successful. But at the same time, it’s the conscious decision that I made and I knew that there’s always a chance that I might not go. And it’s the current state, or the current situation, that I hope will change for later this year for the US Open. That is the most important tournament for me on American soil.”
Djokovic reiterated that at this stage of his career, Grand Slam tournaments are what matter most to him, and he will wait and see if he can go to New York.
“I really want to play there, I want to be there,” Djokovic said. “In fact, I had in 2021 when I lost the final against [Daniil] Medvedev, probably one of the best moments I’ve had with the New York crowd. And I’ve been lucky enough to win that tournament three times, play a lot of finals. And even though I lost that match, I received a lot of love and appreciation from the people and I want to go back and reconnect with the crowd there. So that’s something I’m looking forward to and hopefully happens.”
For now, Djokovic’s focus has shifted to the upcoming clay-court season in Europe.
Of his 22 major singles titles — with which he is tied with Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis — Djokovic has twice won the French Open, the next major tournament on the world tennis calendar.
