Novak Djokovic told to ‘roll up his sleeves and receive vaccine’
Novak Djokovic has been told to ‘roll up his sleeves and receive the vaccine’ ahead of the US Open.
The 35-year-old Serbian, who just won his seventh Wimbledon title, was recently branded an ‘anti-vax poster boy’ for his stance on coronavirus.
His refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccine means he cannot compete at the next Grand Slam in New York as unvaccinated players are being banned from playing at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic travelled out to the Australian Open earlier this year amid a row over vaccinations – which ultimately saw him deported and barred from playing after spending time locked up in an immigration facility.
The 21-time major champion tried to use a medical exemption to enter the country, but this failed as he was unable to defend his 2021 title and subsequently suffered a dip in form.
Djokovic has said the only way he will play the 2022 US Open – a tournament he has won three times – is if he is given an exemption to enter the United States.
He will also be unable to compete at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Canada next month due to the same ban on unvaccinated players.
The Masters 1000 event, which begins on August 5, is a key tournament in the build-up to the US Open, taking place just three weeks before the Grand Slam.
‘The situation is clear – either Canada will change the rules regarding vaccination or he (Novak Djokovic) will have to roll up his sleeves and receive the vaccine,’ National Bank Open director Eugene Lapierre said.
Tennis legend John McEnroe recently hit out at US Open chiefs and said Flushing Meadows without Djokovic would be ‘ridiculous’.
‘These politicians are getting in the way too much,’ McEnroe said. ‘They did it in Australia. Let’s let the guy come in and play in the United States, I mean come on.
‘This is ridiculous. But I don’t make those decisions. I hope someone makes the right one and allows him to play. That’s my personal opinion.
‘You can agree to be tested. I don’t know. There’s got to be a way around this, but we’ll wait and see.’
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