Total sadness for Djokovic: final loss in Miami

It’s Indian Wells… it’s Miami. Novak Djokovic will not be in the second Masters 1,000 of the season either. It was an open secret that only needed official confirmation. This Friday, it was given by the tournament director, James Blake. “We tried everything to allow Djokovic on a waiver, but it didn’t happen. It is obvious that we are one of the biggest tournaments and we would love to have the best players in the world. We did what we could. We were trying to talk to the government, but that decision was not in our hands,” the former American player said yesterday in Tennis Channel. Nole no longer appears on the entry list. His place in the main draw, which will not include Sebastian Korda due to injury, will be occupied by Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán, 89th in the world.

Total sadness for Nole, firm in his refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The winner of 22 Grand Slams tried to enter the United States by all possible means, but it has not been possible. The country led by Joe Biden still requires the full guideline for those foreigners who want to cross its borders. This will be the case until May 11, when the US government will end the health emergency and, with it, all the measures that are still in force. Djokovic, with this, will be able to participate in the US Open again after his absence last year; to be in the Double Sunshinehowever, he needed a medical exemption he asked forbut has not received. “It’s the same result that he got in Indian Wells, where I know Tommy Haas (tournament director) also did everything he could. We tried to get Djokovic to be allowed to obtain a waiver, but it has not been possible, ”Blake added in his words.

The two directors pushed to the end. Also Djokovic, who pulled his strings with the intention of influencing the final decision of the US government. As revealed by Matthew Futterman in The New York Times, the Serb and his team contacted various personalities close to the American president. In the public sphere, there have also been multiple actors who have spoken in favor of the Serb, ranging from the ATP itself to the organization of the US Open. After the “no” to participate in Indian Wells, the attempts did not stop. “We have not given up. He wants to play (in Miami) and I would love to be allowed, it would be great for him and for tennis.”, said Djokovic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic, after announcing his pupil’s absence in California. “If not, it’s not the end of the world, he didn’t play last year either. The most important thing is that we find out soon, so that we can make a plan,” he added.

The ground tour, next stop

It’s time to start that new plan. For the second year in a row, Miami will not have its most decorated player (along with Andre Agassi). Djokovic has won the American Masters 1,000 six times (2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016), which will lead to a mandatory break of just over a month. Nole’s last official match took place in the final in Dubai, in which he lost to Daniil Medvedev. Before, she had prevailed in Adelaide and, of course, at the Australian Open, her 22nd Grand Slam, the one with the tie with Rafa Nadal. Now, like the Spaniard, the Serbian is scheduled to reappear in the Monte Carlo Masters 1,000, from April 8 to 16. The start of a land tour that, at Roland Garros, could host one of the high points in tennis history (the tiebreaker between the two). For now, Nole will continue training away from the competition, as he already had to do last year in various sections of the season.