Novak Djokovic ‘hoping for positive news’ about US Open and Australian Open participation

Shahida Jacobs
Novak Djokovic with Wimbledon trophy
Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic “believes things will change” and he will be allowed to compete at next year’s Australian Open while he has also not given up on the US Open, although he concedes he is running out of time to travel to New York.

Fresh from winning a seventh Wimbledon title and 21st Grand Slam trophy, Djokovic’s remainder of the 2022 season and beginning of the 2023 campaign is in limbo due to his unvaccinated status.

As things stand, only visitors who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus are allowed to enter the United States and Djokovic has made it clear that he will not get the vaccine.

It means he will miss the North American hard-court season and the US Open, which starts on August 29 at Flushing Meadows, while his deportation from Australia resulted in an automatic three-year re-entry ban.

Djokovic, though, is confident his Australian ban will be overturned, but he is not too sure about the US Open.

“As things stand now, I cannot travel to Australia and the United States, but I am hoping to get positive news,” he told RTS following celebrations at Belgrade City Hall.

“I believe things will change for Australian Open. For the US Open there is not much time, but hope dies last. I would like to play at the US Open and Australia Open, but even if I do not it’s not the end of the world.”

During a post-Wimbledon press conference he added: “Whether or not I’m playing any tournament soon, I’ll definitely be resting for the next couple of weeks because it has been quite an exhausting and demanding period for me the last few months. A lot of tennis, which I was very happy about. I got what I wanted here.

“Then I’ll wait hopefully for some good news from USA because I would really love to go there. If that doesn’t happen, then I have to see what the schedule will look like.”

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