And the organizers of the tournament announced on Sunday that the world number one will not participate despite submitting a petition to the US authorities to grant him special permission to enter the country.
And the 35-year-old is still clinging to his refusal to receive the vaccine, which will also prevent him from participating in the Miami 1,000-point Masters tournament, similar to last year, after the US authorities announced that they had extended the period of imposing the vaccine on those coming to the country until April.
Last year, Djokovic missed the American tournaments due to these restrictions, most notably the Flushing Meadows Championship.
Last week, the American Tennis Association and the organizers of the Flushing Meadows tournament supported the Serbian’s request to enter the country despite not receiving the vaccine.
“Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest champions our sport has ever known,” the two bodies said in a joint statement. “The US Federation and the US Open hope that he succeeds in his bid to enter the country, and that the fans will be able to see him compete again in Indian Wells and Miami.”
The Indian Wells qualifiers start on Monday, with the first round starting on Wednesday, until reaching the final on the 19th of this month.
The Miami session will follow from March 22 to April 2.
Djokovic, who shares the record for the number of titles in the “Grand Slam” with Spain’s Rafael Nadal (22 each), said in Dubai last week, where his tournament ended in the semi-finals at the hands of Russian Daniel Medvedev, that he is still waiting to know if The US authorities will grant him this authorization.
He added, before suffering his first defeat since the beginning of this year, “If the request is rejected, I will of course withdraw from the tournament before the draw,” in which he was replaced by Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, according to the brief statement issued by the organizers of Indian Wells.
The Serbian paid dearly for his adherence to refusing to receive the vaccine, as he was deported from Australia at the beginning of last year because of this matter and was prevented from defending the title of the first major championships of the season, before returning in 2023 to win his tenth title in Melbourne.
© 2023 AFP
