“Disgrace in my eyes,” ‘World No. 1’ Novak Djokovic’s ban from entering the US doesn’t sit well with Indian Wells tournament director
Tommy Haas hopes that the restrictions will be lifted which will pave the way for the Serb to compete in the US.
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Tommy Haas, Novak Djokovic
The sole excitement in an otherwise dull Australian Open 2023 is Novak Djokovic. The Serbian icon who missed out on the last edition due to the pandemic-induced restrictions is making the most of his time Down Under this year. The 21-time Australian Open champion is in unforgiving mode and is looking steady on his path to the 10th title glory in Melbourne coming Sunday.
The 35-year-old is the only Grand Slam winner remaining in the current edition thus reinforcing his credentials as the biggest favorite in Australia. He has been in such an ominous form that it is looking like he is there to avenge the last year’s misfortune. On his way to the quarterfinals, he lost only one set, even the hamstring injury could not deter him from proving his worth.
Moving on in the tournament, Djokovic will lock horns with Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Russian himself is on a terrific run but Djokovic is definitely ahead of him.
But as they say, change is only constant, and Djokovic’s fortune may take a bad turn, though momentarily. After the Australian Open Djokovic was expected to travel to the US for Indian Wells and Miami Open scheduled in March. But the new travel restrictions imposed by the country on foreign travelers can derail Djokovic’s march. Though tournament direction Tommy Haas is hoping for a reversal of the ban before the tournament nothing is certain yet.
Related: Injured Sebastian Korda withdraws mid-match against Karen Khachanov at the 2023 Australian Open
Tommy Haas feels it would be a ‘disgrace’ if Novak Djokovic is not allowed to compete in the US
Current Indian Wells tournament director, Tommy Hass, expressed his desire that Djokovic would be able to continue his season after the Australian Open. Though he acknowledged the restriction imposed by the US could impact him.
“If Djokovic stays healthy, I don’t see how he’s not going to be number one,” Haas told reporters. “Obviously the one problem being that he still cannot come to the U.S. If he doesn’t play Indian Wells and Miami in March, they’re supposed to lift those mandates by mid-April,” he continued.
On the other hand, Haas remains hopeful of the lifting of restriction before the tournament otherwise it would be a ‘disgrace’, he believes. “It would be nice to see if we could maybe lift those a little earlier and have him come to play Indian Wells and Miami. I mean, it would be a disgrace in my eyes if he wasn’t coming to these events, or not allowed to come,” Haas said.
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Abhinavendu Singh
(290 Articles Published)