“It would be impossible for Novak to return to Canada,” Novak Djokovic set to miss out on ANOTHER major tournament over controversial anti-vaccination stance
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Eugene Lapierre and Novak Djokovic
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic has had one of the most difficult seasons this year and it has very little to do with his on-court results. The entire episode in Australia where his decision to remain unvaccinated saw him get deported out of the country and banned from entering for the next 3 years. That also meant he had to give up his hattrick of Australian Open titles without any title defense.
He remained inactive during the first three weeks of February as well making his season debut at the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships where he lost in the quarter-finals having won his matches in the first two rounds.
Novak Djokovic forced to miss the National Bank Open
Novak Djokovic’s refusal to be vaccinated could cost his his place at another tennis tournament with his place in Canada’s National Bank Open now in doubt. In January, the Serbian was embroiled in a huge controversy when he announced he had been granted a medical exemption to compete at the Australian Open.
After weeks of uncertainty, Djokovic, 34, does seem set to play in the 2022 French Open in May after France relaxed Covid-19 laws, but since the debacle down under, has been barred from playing in tournaments in Miami and Indian Wells. His lack of match action allowed Daniil Medvedev to end his long standing reign as world no 1.
Recently, National Bank Open organizer Eugene Lapierre admitted that the event may well have to go ahead without the Serbian. The tournament is due to start on August 6, and will form an important part of the build-up to the 2022 US Open. Speaking to journaled Montreal, Lapierre said that the organizers are in no hurry to lay down the rules for the tournament, but revealed that he expected there to be changes. He also said that as things stand now, it’d be impossible for the Serbian to be at the tournament if it were held today.
“We’re not really in a hurry [to confirm regulations].We imagine that there will be changes as we go along; if the situation improves, if the situation worsens, or whatever. If it were today, it would be impossible for Novak to return to Canada and participate in the event. So we’re going to wait,” said Lapierre.
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Akash Mandal
(433 Articles Published)