Wimbledon to potentially be Novak Djokovic’s last Grand Slam this year
Novak Djokovic has ruled out getting the Covid-19 vaccination, something which is needed to enter to United States meaning it’s looking highly unlikely he’ll be playing at the US Open this year.
This therefore means that Wimbledon will be Djokovic’s second and last Grand Slam competition of the year after he was barred from entering Australia and ultimately couldn’t compete at the Happy Slam.
But this time is looks like the Serbian is clear on what he can and can’t do, unlike last time in Australia where it was still a mystery of whether he’d be playing in the tournament right up until the day before.
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) June 22, 2022
“As of today I am not allowed to enter the States under these circumstances, I am aware of that and that is an extra motivation to do well here and hopefully I can have a very good tournament as I have done in the last three editions,” the former world No 1 explained.
“Then I will just have to wait and see, I would love to go to the States, but as of today that is not possible.
“There is not much I can do anymore, it is up to the US government to make a decision whether or not they allow the unvaccinated people to go in to the country.”
The 20 time Grand Slam champion was asked again whether he would consider getting the vaccine, but when he was asked if he had a closed mind to receiving it, he said “yes.”
This means that Rafael Nadal, who sits on 21 Grand Slam titles, has more opportunities to add to his haul while Wimbledon is Djokovic’s last ditch attempt to add more to his tally this year.
Djokovic will face Kwon Soon-woo from South Korea in the opening round at SW19 tomorrow, while Nadal takes on Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina on Tuesday.