Novak DjokovicLast time he won the Australian Open a Three-centimeter tear in his right hamstring. He was back on the court this week and steaming through the Dubai Championships field until Daniil Medvedev stopped his progress on Friday in semifinals.
The tennis calendar is getting serious, and two of the biggest tournaments other than the Grand Slams are scheduled for California and Miami in the latter part of this month. Djokovic Train seems to be destined to screech a halt.
Djokovic, once again the world’s No. 1 men’s singles player, desperately wants to play next week at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian WellsCalifornia, then later at the Miami Open. He requested an exemption to the ban on non-permanent residents from being allowed into the United States if they aren’t vaccinated for Covid-19.
The great confusion of Djokovic and some of the biggest names in the sport, it’s not going well, and time is running out for Djokovic He may withdraw from tournament without being able play leaves a A huge hole is found in the upper quadrant.
John McEnroe was the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion a A television commentator called Djokovic’s inability to play in the U.S. “absurd.” If President Biden does not change his mind — and that is what it would take at this point — Djokovic You must notify the office by Sunday a A player who is ranked 100 places lower than the average may be able to take his preferred spot on the draw sheets, Tommy Haas (the tournament director) for Indian WellsIn an interview, he said so on Wednesday.
Haas, a Former world No. German national, 2 has been lobbying several organizations to seek out a Way to Get Djokovic in the U.S. While the United States Tennis Association is in regular contact with government contacts, they have not yet formalized their lobbying. Djokovic’s behalf.
“Novak’s situation is obviously frustrating for us,” Haas said. “We want the best tennis player in the world to be here. He’s writing me, he wants to be here. So of course, you’re like, OK, let’s try to make this happen. How can we figure this out that’s going to be realistic? But at the end of the day, unfortunately, that’s not in our hands and that’s what’s frustrating.”
One spokesperson for Djokovic Email seeking comments was not answered. Djokovic He stated earlier in the week that he still was awaiting his fate a His request was granted for Exemption
“Everything is currently in the process,” Djokovic Belgrade, Serbia. “I have a big desire to be there.
Djokovic, who has won at Indian Wells five times, has not explained why he believes he should qualify for an exemption. He is not vaccinated but the only reason he has ever given for his choice is that he believes people should have the right to decide whether to get vaccinated.
The Djokovic situation isn’t the only bothersome development for the Indian Wells tournament.
Rafael Nadal, who is still recovering from a leg injury he sustained in the second round of the Australian Open, withdrew earlier this week. Nadal hates missing Indian Wells, and not only because he has won the tournament three times. Nadal often stays at the home of Larry Ellison, the founder of the tech company Oracle who owns the tournament, and Nadal also gets to play plenty of golf in downtime.
In another worrisome development for both Indian Wells and tennis, during a match in Rio de Janeiro last weekend, Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old Spanish sensation, aggravated the hamstring pull that kept him out of the Australian Open. The injury forced him to pull out of a tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, this week. Alcaraz thrilled crowds as he won the U.S. Open in September, the last time he competed in America.
Even without some of the biggest stars, Indian Wells will always be one the highlights on the schedule. Players repeatedly rank the tournament among the best in the world. It is a destination for locals and tourists. The snow seems to have cleared out of Southern California for now. The overwhelming majority of the roughly half-million fans who attend the two-week event (including qualifying) come from outside the Palm Springs area.
It also helps that tennis in the United States is in the midst of a small boom. The U.S.T.A. announced last month that participation grew in 2022 for the third consecutive year, with more than one million new participants. Overall, 23.6 million people played tennis at least once in 2022, an increase of 5.9 million, or 33 percent, since the start of 2020, when the pandemic drove hordes of new and lapsed players back to the sport.
And yet, barring a last-minute change in policy or a decision to grant an exemption, the man who plays the sport better than anyone won’t be there.
It’s not clear why Djokovic believes he might qualify for an exemption. The only criteria he would seem to be able to meet involves proving that getting vaccinated would be harmful to his health or that his presence in the United States “would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security (or their designees),” The website provides more information for The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The House of Representatives voted last month a Bill to repeal the vaccine requirement was passed 227-203 by seven Democrats and all Republicans. According to supporters of the bill, the U.S. policies are out of sync with international vaccination regulations. for The majority of foreigners are gone. The Senate has yet to vote on this matter. According to the C.D.C. it will not automatically end in May as the Biden administration plans for ending the Covid-19 public and national health emergencies that were declared in 2020.
Stopping the vaccine requirement for Most likely, foreign travellers will need to have a Separate order by President Biden to end the presidential proclamation which put it in effect.
Haas is the Indian Wells The tournament director stated that the is a The silver lining is there for the lack of DjokovicNadal, possibly Alcaraz at the very least for The other players.
“If I’m like a young American coming up, I’m like, listen this is my time to hold up the trophy,” Haas said. “Now from my point of view as the tournament director and one of the best players can’t compete here, it’s obviously a sad thing, a frustrating thing.”
