The Serbian tennis player had been expelled from Australia in January at the first Grand Slam of the year, not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Le Monde
A delayed return to the United Arab Emirates for Novak Djokovic. The Serb is back to Dubai, Monday, February 21, with the ambition to maintain its world’s number 1 place, one month after its expulsion from Australia where he could not defend his chances at the first big kelm of the year, not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
His Rafael Nadal rival will try to confirm his return to the foreground in Acapulco after attending the end of January in Melbourne a 21 e title of the Grand Slam, record in men. The Spaniard had thus exceeded a unity with the “Major” the Swiss Roger Federer, always convalescent, and therefore Djokovic, whose participation annulled at the Open of Australia had baffled the column.
To justify his arrival in Australia without being vaccinated, the 34-year-old Serb had asked, on the grounds of contracted CVIV-19 a few weeks earlier, an exemption that had never been granted to him. And his visa had been definitively canceled after fifteen days of an unprecedented controversy.
“Ready to pay the price”
Since Djokovic rested in Serbia, with family, and this week he came out of his silence, for the BBC then Serbian television. It is not “antivax,” he said, but wishes to continue to “control what is injected” in his body.
He also said “ready to pay the price” of his convictions even if it has to cost him his participation in the other three major tournaments this season, namely Roland-Garros (22 May-5 June), Wimbledon ( June 27-July 10), the US Open (29 August-11 September), and de facto the record race.
The French Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, said Sunday at the microphone of RTL:
“We all hope that the sanitary crisis will evolve in a positive sense but if it does not change, it will take a vaccinal pass and so Novak Djokovic will not be with us [in Roland-Garros].”
In Dubai, the world number 1 can participate in the tournament because a coronavirus vaccine is not mandatory to enter the Emirates, where 895 new cases were announced Thursday.
“knowing that I came to Dubai, I had something to prepare, I had a goal. So now that I am here, I can say that I am as well prepared as possible and I am enthusiastic to ‘idea of playing again on the circuit, “said” Djoko “, in search of a sixth title in Dubai, at a press conference on Sunday.
Mandatory vaccine to enter the ground American
After Dubai, he appears on the list of commitments for Indian Wells Masters 1000 (7-20 March), in the Californian desert. But he does not have the right to enter the American territory without being vaccinated.
The world number 1 explained:
“I can not really choose right now. It’s really about knowing where I can go and play. Wherever an opportunity will come up, I will probably use it and I’ll play because it’s always what I like to do. “
Monday, Djokovic will find the young Lorenzo Musetti (19 years old, 57 , which had given him a hard time in June in his quest for a second trophy in Roland- Garros.
In the round of 16 in Paris, the Serbian champion had lost the first two sets before reversing the trend then Musetti had finally abandoned in the fifth round (6-7 (7/9), 6-7 (2) / 7), 6-1, 6-0, 4-0).
For Djokovic, the issue will also keep the King’s armchair of ATP as the world number 2, the Russian Daniil Medvedev, engaged at the Acapulco tournament, can delight him at the end of the week. The finalist of the last Open of Australia can climb the summit if he wanted the title in Mexico regardless of the result of “Djoko” in the Emirates. “If it happens this week, I will be the first to congratulate him,” said Djokovic about Russian.
But the competition looks harsh in Acapulco with, in addition to Nadal – opposite American entry Reilly Opelka -, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and German Alexander Zverev.
For his part, Djokovic hopes quickly finding good feelings, he who has not played in competition since December 3 and a defeat in Madrid with Serbia against Croatia in the semifinal of the Davis Cup.