Covid – Djokovic, sigh of relief: Us Open safe. But there is the ranking risk…

Since May 11, the United States has also been open to those who have not had the vaccine. The dream of the Grand Slam therefore remains intact. However, Nole will lose some important tournaments such as Indian Wells and Miami and Tsitsipas could take advantage of this

Two pieces of news for Novak Djokovic, one good and one decidedly less good. The first is that the Serb will be able to enter the United States from May 11, a date which, it has been official for a few hours, will mark the end of the Covid restrictions in the country, allowing entry even for the unvaccinated. The bad news for Nole is that he won’t be able to play the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments, the first Masters 1000 of the season, scheduled between March and April, therefore before the federal “free all”.

the mission

What matters most to the world number one, however, is that his run for the grand slam, launched with new conviction this year after his dominant victory at the Australian Open, is not compromised by the well-known Covid vaccine issue, which has prevented in 2022 from being present at the US Open. This time however, except for the ECDC (the center for disease control in the USA) backtracking or a particular new and unpredictable epidemiological situation, Djokovic will be there, and how, in New York, given that the event is held between the end of August and September, and in all likelihood it will also be in Cincinnati.

ranking risk

The fact that Djokovic is not present at Indian Wells and Miami could be dangerous in his defense of first place in the ATP ranking. Of course, Nole has nothing to defend as he was absent (and for the same reasons) in 2022 as well, but whoever is behind him will try to make a coup. Difficult Alcaraz, who in the two 1000m must defend the victory in Miami and the semifinal in Indian Wells (there are 1360), but the number three in the world, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in 2022 did poorly in the American tour (a third and a fourth round), he’s not far from Nole in the standings and so he could really aspire, after Miami, to be the twenty-ninth player in history to become No. 1 in the world.

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