Another Grand Slam gone for Novak Djokovic? Wimbledon likely to follow French Open over player vaccination
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Novak Djokovic
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won 3 Grand Slam titles last year and narrowly missed out on the 4th as he lost in the finals of the 2021 US Open to World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the finals. However, in the 2022 season, the Serbian might be absent from yet another Grand Slam event because of his unvaccinated status.
After his deportation from Australia as he was unvaccinated and violated the Australian government’s policy, the player had to let go of his Australian Open title without any defence as he lost his appeal to remain in the country on 16th January, a day prior to the beginning of the 2022 Australian Open where he would have been the 3-time defending champion.
Srdjan Djokovic, the father of Novak, was angry over the manner of dismissal of his son from Australia, he left saying, “see you in Paris,” hinting that the Serbian will return to claim his 21st Grand Slam title at the 2022 French Open but there was a new twist in the tale. France is also expected to make vaccinations compulsory for foreign nationals wishing to play in the Grand Slam this year.
This has landed another blow as Djokovic might need to give up another Grand Slam title without being able to defend it. While the UK government was yet to speak on the matter, reports have emerged from Wimbledon that they might be following the path of the Australian Open and French Open and might not allow unvaccinated players to participate.
As reported by Mirror and The Telegraph, the All England Club might be given permission to have their own rules when it came to Covid vaccination and while a total ban on the unvaccinated players is not yet in the discussions, severe restrictions and a strict bio-bubble could be in place for the players like Djokovic who refuse to get vaccinated.
Novak Djokovic yet to play a match in 2022
While the three Slams have spoken, the US Open is yet to make any comment with the tournament quite far away as of now. However, as reported by journalist Gasper Ribiero Lanca, vaccination has been made compulsory for indoor events that will be held in the USA. USA has also made vaccination compulsory for foreign nationals and Novak is a major doubt for the upcoming Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Masters.
Novak who was supposed to start his 2022 season at the 2022 ATP Cup will now be without a single competitive match till February at least. Upon his return to Belgrade, his mother Dijana came forward and informed the press that Novak will not be interacting with the media for a while now as he was disappointed in the ‘unjust’ ruling against him in Australia.
Also Read: Novak Djokovic fan removed from 2022 Australian Open after a fight ensues over ‘anti-mask’ remark
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)