Djokovic, after the final of the US Open 2021, which he lost against Medvedev. /
Absence
The Serbian will not be able to participate in the last Grand Slam of the year due to his refusal to be vaccinated against covid
The Novak Djokovic-US Open soap opera lasted practically until the last minute. Just an hour before the draw for the American Grand Slam, the Serbian, three-time champion in New York, announced his withdrawal from the tournament. “Unfortunately I will not be able to travel to New York this time to play the US Open,” Djokovic said on his social media.
Thank you all for your support and for your messages of encouragement. Good luck to my colleagues. I will continue to train with positivity and look forward to the opportunity to compete again. See you soon, “added the Belgrade, who has been waiting for a change in the legislation for the last two months to be able to enter the United States.
Current laws do not allow unvaccinated people to travel to the American country, which has prevented Djokovic, a finalist last year, from attending the tournament. His refusal to be vaccinated has been steadfast since the start of the pandemic and he certified it with a resounding ‘no’ the last time he was asked about it at Wimbledon.
In this way, Djokovic will lose the 1,200 points he defended from last year’s final in which he lost to Daniil Medvedev and will fall outside the top ten for the first time since July 2018.
The controversy that has surrounded the Djokovic case is thorny because the US Open will allow those unvaccinated tennis players residing in the United States to play, while the Serbian is banned from participating because he has to come from abroad.
This will be the second Grand Slam of the year that Djokovic will miss, after staying out of Australia when he was deported, when the medical exemption originally granted by the Australian Government was denied. At Roland Garros he reached the quarterfinals, where he was stopped by Rafael Nadal, while at Wimbledon he won his seventh title, raising his Grand Slam record to 21, one above Roger Federer and one below Nadal.