(London) Novak Djokovic is still waiting to find out if he will be able to play in the Australian Open next January, having missed the tournament earlier this year because he is still not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Posted at 9:26
“The ball is in their court,” Djokovic said Thursday at the Laver Cup. I hope I will get good news soon. »
Djokovic has 21 career Grand Slam titles — second only to Rafael Nadal’s 22 but ahead of Roger Federer’s 20 — and has won nine of his titles at Melbourne Park, a unmatched record.
He was, however, deported from Australia last January after a 10-day legal saga that culminated in the revocation of his entry visa; he initially obtained an exemption from two independent medical committees and Tennis Australia to circumvent strict vaccination rules and compete in the Australian Open.
The 35-year-old tennis player, who is from Serbia, reiterated that he will not be vaccinated against the coronavirus, even if it means he will have to miss some tennis tournaments.
He has been ruled out of two of four major tournaments this season, including the US Open earlier this month. The United States and Canada currently prohibit foreign citizens who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 from staying on their soil, and as a result he also missed four other North American tournaments in 2022 — including the National Bank Open .
Djokovic was able to enter France, where he lost to Nadal in the French Open quarter-finals in June, and England, where he clinched the Wimbledon title in July.
The Laver Cup, which gets underway on Friday, will be Djokovic’s first competition since Wimbledon.
” I have no regrets. Admittedly, I am sad that I was unable to play (at the United States Open), but it was my decision and I was aware of the consequences of it. I accepted it, and that’s it. »
“I haven’t been used in 15 or 20 years to taking long breaks between tournaments, but that’s how it is,” he continued. This is the situation I find myself in. I’m just happy to be here right now — and I’ll be playing most of the indoor tournaments by the end of the campaign. »