Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic named in the Indian Wells entry list despite compulsory vaccination policy
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Novak Djokovic
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic‘s vaccination status continues to remain a mystery. With reports emerging lately that after the entire Australia visa debacle, the player will be getting vaccinated soon, the report seemed to have been false and so far there has been no confirmation from the Djokovic camp that the Serbian has been vaccinated against Covid-19.
As the Tour events get regular and more frequent, Djokovic continues to remain absent from the Tour and is expected to make his season debut at the ATP-500 Dubai Championships 2022 where he has been a 5-time champion having won his last title in 2020. The tournament in Dubai will begin on 21st February as one of the last tournaments of the month.
The month of March will see only two tournaments, the Indian Wells Masters starting on 10th March followed by the Miami Masters that starts on 23rd Match. As the entry list was released by the Indian Wells organisers, Djokovic was also listed on the entry list, raising concerns about whether the player who remains unvaccinated will be allowed to participate despite the clear instruction of all players need to be vaccinated.
“The guidelines for the players are governed by the protocols established by… the WTA and ATP, as well as any restrictions established by the United States of America in regard to the vaccination status of international travellers entering the country,” the organisers said as reported by Skynews. This comes in the respect of all foreign nationals need to be fully vaccinated in order to enter the USA.
Novak Djokovic’s record at the Indian Wells Masters
Novak last played at the tournament in 2019 as the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Pandemic and Djokovic opted to sit out from the 2021 edition that was played in October and take a small break after a hectic season where he had reached the finals of all Grand Slams and finished runner-up only at the 2021 US Open.
Novak made his debut in Indian Wells in 2006 and lost in the first round but made a massive improvement next year as he finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal. He improved on his performance and won the title in 2008, his first in the desert. His next title came in 2011 when he defeated Nadal in what was the beginning of a great season for the Serbian.
After two consecutive semi-final defeats, Djokovic won a hattrick of titles from 2014-2016 defeating Roger Federer in 2014 and 2015 and overcoming Milos Raonic in 2016. Since the title in 2016, his 5th of the tournament, Novak is yet to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament again where he is the joint-most successful champion along with Federer, tied on 5 titles each.
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Sarthak Shitole
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