The US Tennis Association and the US Open's organisers both expressed their support for Djokovic's application to enter the country on Friday.
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As a result of his ban from entering the nation, world number one Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from next week’s ATP/WTA Indian Wells Masters competition, organisers announced on Sunday. Djokovic had asked US authorities for a special permit to enter, but he is unable to do so because he lacks the Covid-19 vaccination. Next week sees the start of the ATP 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, California, and it is followed by the prestigious tournament in Miami, which Djokovic is now likely to skip barring a change of heart from US authorities. The Transportation Security Administration recently stated that the ban on international travellers who are not immunised from entering the country will not change until at least mid-April.
Djokovic was deported from Australia shortly before the 2022 Australian Open due to his vaccination status. Due to the travel restriction, he missed the US Open last year after winning Wimbledon. When he returned to Australia in January 2023, he won the Australian Open, securing a Grand Slam singles record-tying 22nd victory. In Dubai last week, he increased his winning streak to 20 games before losing to Daniil Medvedev on Friday. Nikoloz Basilashvili will take Djokovic’s place on the field, according to a brief statement. The US Tennis Association and the US Open’s organisers both expressed their support for Djokovic’s application to enter the country on Friday.
“Novak Djokovic is one the greatest champions our sport has ever seen,” the US Open wrote on its official Twitter feed. “The USTA and US Open are hopeful that Novak is successful in his petition to enter the country, and that the fans will be able to see him back in action at Indian Wells and Miami.”
Daniil Medvedev defeated Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-2 to win the Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday, giving him an ATP Tour hat-trick. The third seed, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals to end the Serbian’s perfect start to the season, displayed consistency throughout the 68-minute contest to extend his winning streak to 14 games. Medvedev, who won tournaments in Rotterdam and Doha in February, is the third player since 2021 to accomplish this feat, following Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 27-year-old has improved to No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, surpassing Rublev, who drops to No. 7. This is due to his strong performance on hard courts. Medvedev increased his record against the 25-year-old Rublev to 5-2 with his Tour-leading 19th victory of the year.
“It is amazing because at the start of the year, it was not perfect. In tennis when you don’t win matches you have doubts. Now it just feels better,” Medvedev said. “I was really happy with these three weeks and I am looking forward to the next ones. It was very tactical [match],” the Russian said. “I know Andrey can cause a lot of trouble to everyone on Tour. Every time we play he tries to make me suffer, I try to make him suffer. Today I managed to be on top, but the next match could be a different story.”
