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Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic out of U.S. Open, cannot journey to America

Novak Djokovic is not going to play within the U.S. Open, as anticipated, as a result of he isn’t vaccinated towards COVID-19 and thus isn’t allowed to journey to america.

Djokovic introduced his withdrawal from the 12 months’s final Grand Slam event on Twitter on Thursday, hours earlier than the draw for the occasion was revealed.

“Sadly, I won’t be able to journey to NY this time for US Open,” Djokovic wrote, wishing luck to his fellow gamers, and stated he would “preserve in good condition and optimistic spirit and await a chance to compete once more.”

Play is scheduled to start at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

Djokovic is a 35-year-old from Serbia who owns 21 main championships, one behind Rafael Nadal for the lads’s report. Three of Djokovic’s Slam trophies got here on the U.S. Open, in 2011, 2015 and 2018.

He additionally was the runner-up there a half-dozen occasions, together with final season, when his pursuit of the primary calendar-year Grand Slam in males’s tennis since 1969 ended with a loss within the closing to Daniil Medvedev.

Overseas residents who haven’t been vaccinated towards COVID-19 are at present unable to enter the united statesor Canada, and Djokovic has stated he will not get the pictures, even when that forestalls him from taking part in in sure tournaments.

The U.S. Tennis Affiliation has stated all alongside it’s going to observe authorities guidelines about vaccination standing for this 12 months’s Open. There is no such thing as a vaccine mandate on the event for gamers or their help groups — that means that an unvaccinated American can be allowed to compete — and spectators is not going to be required to put on masks.

“Novak is a good champion and it is vitally unlucky that he will likely be unable to compete on the 2022 U.S. Open, as he’s unable to enter the nation as a result of federal authorities’s vaccination coverage for non-U.S. residents,” stated Stacey Allaster, the U.S. Open event director. “We sit up for welcoming Novak again on the 2023 U.S. Open.”

Djokovic missed the Australian Open in January after a protracted authorized saga ended along with his deportation from that nation as a result of he is not vaccinated towards COVID-19. He additionally sat out 4 vital tournaments in North America in 2022, together with in Montreal and Cincinnati just lately.

He did play within the French Open, the place he misplaced within the quarterfinals to Nadal, and at Wimbledon, the place Djokovic received the title.

WATCH | Djokovic claims seventh Wimbledon, twenty first profession Grand Slam title:

Djokovic downs Kyrgios for seventh Wimbledon championship

The highest-seeded star received his 4th consecutive Wimbledon title by defeating Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

After beating Nick Kyrgios within the Wimbledon closing on July 10, Djokovic stated he “would love” to take part within the final Grand Slam event of the 12 months at Flushing Meadows, however he additionally acknowledged, “I am not planning to get vaccinated.”

About three weeks later, Djokovic posted on social media that he was holding out hope of getting the prospect to play within the U.S. Open, writing: “I’m getting ready as if I will likely be allowed to compete, whereas I await to listen to if there’s any room for me to journey to US. Fingers crossed!”

Djokovic has spent extra weeks at No. 1 than anybody else within the historical past of the ATP rankings. He’s No. 6 this week, partially as a result of no rankings factors had been awarded at Wimbledon this 12 months.

Among the many different gamers who is not going to be on the U.S. Open for varied causes are No. 2-ranked Alexander Zverev, the 2020 runner-up in New York; 2016 champion Angelique Kerber; 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova; Gael Monfils and Reilly Opelka.

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