Despite continuing to refrain from vaccination against the corona virus, Novak Djokovic has not yet given up hope of entering the USA for the US Open.
“I’m not vaccinated and I don’t plan on getting vaccinated,” said the 35-year-old after winning his seventh title at Wimbledon. His only option is that the obligation to vaccinate is overturned or that he receives an exception. “I’ll wait for hopefully good news from the US because I would really love to go there. That would probably be the next big tournament, next big swing, play a tournament or two before that and then the US Open.”
The last Grand Slam tournament of the year in New York begins on August 29th. Most recently, the obligation to test before entering the USA was overturned, but with a few exceptions, vaccination against the corona virus is still a prerequisite for entering the country.
Ivanisevic: “Maybe Biden will change his mind”
“If it doesn’t work out, I would have to see what my schedule will look like,” said Djokovic. He probably won’t play smaller tournaments. “To be honest, I doubt I’ll be chasing points for the world rankings.” Since there were no points to be won at Wimbledon due to the ban against Russian and Belarusian players, Djokovic will slip from third to seventh in the new world rankings. However, he assumes that his 21st Grand Slam title will qualify him for the ATP Finals in November.
His coach Goran Ivanisevic is still hoping to start at the US Open. “Maybe (President Joe) Biden will change his mind,” said the former Wimbledon champion. “If he goes to the States, it’s wonderful. If he doesn’t go to the States, what can we do? There are other tournaments. There are a lot of crazy things happening in the world. Every day something changes, something new happens. We see what happens. It’s still a month and a half.”