Tennis: Djokovic accepts missing US events over Covid vaccination requirements

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hitting a backhand against Quentin Halys of France during the 2023 Adelaide International Tennis Tournament at the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre in Adelaide on Thursday. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

ADELAIDE – Novak Djokovic said he has no choice but to sit out tournaments in the United States, after authorities said non-nationals will need to have had Covid-19 vaccinations to enter the country.

The US Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday said the requirement for foreign air travellers to be fully vaccinated against the disease would be in place until April 10.

That would mean Djokovic would miss the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells from March 6-19, as well as the Miami Open from March 20 to April 2.

“Look, if it is official, then it is. I mean, what can I do? Nothing, that’s it. You know my position. It is what it is,” he told reporters after he advanced to the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International 1 on Thursday when he beat Frenchman Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5).

“I’m hoping (to participate), but if I can’t go, I can’t go.”

Djokovic missed the tournaments in 2022 as well and he was unable to travel to New York in August for the US Open without proof of vaccination.

The 35-year-old was also unable to defend his Australian Open crown in 2022 after being deported from the country on the eve of the hard-court major due to his unvaccinated status.

The 21-time Grand Slam winner was, however, granted a visa for 2023 after Australia scrapped a rule that required international travellers to declare their Covid vaccination status.

Djokovic also said on Thursday he wants to play a practice match against Nick Kyrgios ahead of the upcoming Australian Open, the latest improvement in what was once an icy relationship.

Previously, the pair rarely saw eye-to-eye, with the divisive Australian once calling the 35-year-old Serb “a tool”.

But their relations warmed in 2022 when Kyrgios became one of the few players to offer Djokovic support for his Australia deportation saga.

“I wasn’t his favourite guy – let’s say it that way – for many years,” said Djokovic.

“But he was one of the very few that stood by me last year, and I respect that and appreciate that...

“In those moments you can actually see who truly supports you and who is by your side and who goes with, I guess, the flow of the society and the pressures that media puts on you.

“We are talking with the Australian Open about doing something in a week prior to the start of the tournament.”

An injured Kyrgios on Thursday pulled out of next week’s Adelaide International II, but his team insisted he was in “no doubt” for the Australian Open.

It is the second straight tournament the temperamental tennis star has withdrawn from, after his no-show for the ongoing mixed-teams United Cup event in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth due to an ankle issue.

Kyrgios’ manager, Daniel Horsfall, told the Melbourne Age newspaper the decision to not play was made in consultation with his physiotherapist.

He added that Kyrgios, who had a stellar 2022 and reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, was making “good progress” and was in “no doubt at all” for the Australian Open starting on Jan 16.

Horsfall said: “A lot of people were upset after he pulled out of the United Cup, but I hope they now realise the injury is genuine.”

The situation could be less positive for former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who exited an Auckland warm-up tournament injured and in tears just over a week before the Australian Open starts.

Raducanu swept the first set against Slovakian Viktoria Kuzmova 6-0 in 22 minutes but faltered in the second and had her left ankle examined during a medical time-out.

She then left the court in tears after being unable to complete the first point of the decider after losing the second set 7-5.

REUTERS, AFP

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