Dylan Bettencourt
Novak Djokovic is ready to miss out on the US Open later this year – as he still refuses to vaccinate against Covid-19.
The Serbian tennis star made headlines in January when he was deported from Australia for refusing to reveal his vaccination status and then later admitting to lying about it.
Although Djokovic competed at the French Open and is set to compete at Wimbledon, he could miss out on the year’s final Grand Slam.
American authorities have shown no sign of relaxing vaccination regulations for visitors, leaving Djokovic to admit that Wimbledon will be his final Grand Slam of the year.
When the 35-year-old was asked if he had completely shut out the idea of being vaccinated, he simply replied “Yes.”
Djokovic is a three-time US Open winner, last winning the Grand Slam in 2018.
But the Serbian remains two Grand Slam titles behind rival Rafael Nadal, with the Spaniard holding 22 to Djokovic’s 20.
Therefore Djokovic will not be able to close the gap on Nadal this year.
“As of today, I’m not allowed to enter the States under these circumstances. That is an extra motivation to do well here. Hopefully, I can have a very good tournament,” Djokovic said in London.
“I would love to go to the States. But as of today, that’s not possible. There is not much I can do anymore. It’s really up to the US government to make a decision whether or not they allow unvaccinated people to go into the country.”
As Wimbledon gets underway on Monday, Djokovic has the chance of winning his fourth consecutive title and possibly join a select few who have.
Only Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have won four straight titles in England’s Grand Slam.
Djokovic’s road to the final starts on Monday at 2pm against Kwon Soon-Woo.
Image source: @USOpen
