“I’ll wait for an opportunity to compete again,” Novak Djokovic officially withdraws from the 2022 US Open

“I’ll wait for an opportunity to compete again,” Novak Djokovic officially withdraws from the 2022 US Open

Novak Djokovic

21-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic‘s hopes of playing in the 2022 US Open have finally ended as the Serbian is forced to withdraw from the Grand Slam. Djokovic had his hopes that the US government will modify their policy on allowing unvaccinated foreigners to enter the country which would allow him to play. However, his hopes were crushed as no such modification was made to the existing policy by the US government.

As a result, Djokovic will miss his second Grand Slam of the season having been forced to miss the 2022 Australian Open as well. Being a runner-up at the 2021 US Open, he was set to defend 1200 ranking points as well but will now drop them without even setting a foot in the country further plummeting in the ATP rankings where he is currently ranked 6th with 4770 points and could drop to on the brink of exiting the Top-10.

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“See you soon tennis world!,”: Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

With the US Open draws scheduled for 25th August, it was a matter of a few hours that would have determined whether Novak plays or not in the Grand Slam. He has however now officially withdrawn less than a couple of hours before the draw ceremony was about to commence for the major.

“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open. Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you soon tennis world!” tweeted Djokovic through his official handle posting message in both his native language and English.

Djokovic’s absence will surely open the field massively as he is always a force to be reckoned with on hardcourts given his brilliant record. Having last played in the 2022 Wimbledon Championships during his title run, Djokovic was looking to match Rafael Nadal‘s tally of 22 majors this year in New York but will have to miss another major and will have to try again next year. His next tournament will be the 2022 Laver Cup in London where the Big-4 will be playing together for the very first time, some positive news for the Serbian’s fans.

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