Tennis News: Non-vaccinated Novak Djokovic to miss The Canadian Open
Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic will skip next week's US Open preparatory event in Canada because of his inability to enter the country. He is not vaccinated against COVID-19, which exempts him from crossing the borders of the Great White North
Non-vaccinated Novak Djokovic to miss The Canadian OpenDjokovic was named on the entry list for the ATP 1000 hardcourt event in Montreal when it came out in mid-July. To be a fully vaccinated traveller to Canada, a person must take a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before entering the country.
Apart from the Serb, Germany's Oscar Otte is another absentee as Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi were included in the main draw.
Djokovic is still on the entry list for the US Open scheduled to be held between August 29 and September 11 in New York. He said he would rather skip Grand Slam tournaments than take the vaccine.
He couldn't defend his Australian Open title in 2022 after being deported from the country in January for his vaccine status. Now, the four-time Canada Open winner will not be able to seek his fifth crown in Montreal.
How is Djokovic faring in 2022?
Novak withdrew a day before the Canada event and is still in Montenegro, hoping he could enter the US Open by a miracle. Djokovic is 23-5 this season, having participated in two out of three Majors and winning titles in Rome and Wimbledon.
The Serb had disappointing outings in Dubai and Monte Carlo before conceding the final at home in Belgrade to Andrey Rublev. Djokovic then lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid semi-final but raised the bar a week later in Rome.
The Serb won the title without dropping a set, holding his 38th Masters 1000 trophy and shifting two clear of third-ranked Rafael Nadal. Novak was hungry to defend his title in Paris and reached the quarter-final at Roland Garros without losing a set.
Djokovic encountered the King of Clay in the quarter-finals and suffered a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 loss in four hours and 12 minutes. He squandered two set points on serve at 5-3 and lost the tie break to send the Spaniard through.
Novak resurfaced at Wimbledon and won the seventh All England Club title to secure his 21st Major crown. Djokovic trailed two sets to love against Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final pulling off his standard comeback to stay in the game.
He defeated Cameron Norrie and Nick Kyrgios in four sets to win the title and bring up his tally to one Wimbledon crown behind Roger Federer. Novak won his first title in Canada on his debut in 2007 and roped in four more trophies to his collection in 2011 and 2012.
His last crown came in 2016 after beating Kei Nishikori. Djokovic participated once after that but lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final in 2018.