There’s only one way Novak Djokovic can save Wimbledon points but it’s almost impossible due to British government interference
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Novak Djokovic
20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic exits the Top-2 for the first time since 2018 as he dropped down to the World No. 3 spot on the ATP rankings that were updated on Monday, 13th June 2022. The Serbian despite having won three Grand Slams last year and finishing as the runner-up in the US Open will drop down to World No. 7 after this year’s Wimbledon is played out.
The drop in rankings will be due to two main reasons, the denied entry in Australia saw Novak drop 2000 points without any defence and despite playing at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, he will lose all points after ATP decided to strip the Grand Slam of all its points as they banned the Russian and Belarusian players from participating due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. While there’s one ray of hope still existing for points to be reinstated at the Championships, the chances of it are almost nil.
ATP and PTPA continue to be at loggerheads
Novak Djokovic’s co-founded Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has never been welcomed by the ATP as the committee remains in total control of the players, unlike the ATP. The PTPA has talked openly about not being considered equal and decisions being taken without their consultation, something that happened with the Wimbledon’s ranking points decision as well as not all players are on board with the decision to remove the rankings points.
Despite this, the ATP has not budged as the Grand Slam in London has also not taken back its decision to ban the Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the major that will start within a fortnight. ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi recently said, “We would be very happy to return the points to Wimbledon if the ban on Russians and Belarusians, who have said they are willing to make written statements because none of them is in favour of war, were lifted.”
British Government’s insistence to prove costly for Novak Djokovic
As confirmed by Gaudenzi, Russian and Belarusian players are ready to sign declarations opposing and denouncing the war, but, as per multiple reports, the British government has pressured the Grand Slam’s organisers to maintain their stance and show a complete boycott of Russia for the war in Ukraine that has continued for more than 3 months now.
With neither the Grand Slam nor the ATP ready to come to a midpoint, Djokovic will bear the brunt of it along with last year’s finalist Matteo Berrettini who is certain to drop out of the Top-20 of the ATP rankings even if he manages to win the Wimbledon title this year. With two more weeks still to go before the Grand Slam starts on the 27th of June, the ATP and others can only hope that a reversal of the decision by Wimbledon could see the points being restored and a normal major being played out. If not, the rankings will see a massive shift.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)