Still unable to enter the United States as an unvaccinated foreigner, Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Western & Southern Open on Friday morning.
Because Djokovic pulled out before Friday’s draw ceremony and prior to qualifying getting underway, he was replaced by the next player on the entry list as opposed to a lucky loser. Brandon Nakashima got in directly thanks to the Serb’s exit, and since Nakashima already had a wild card that now frees up the tournament to give a wild card to someone else. It actually has two to work with, as Gael Monfils’ recent withdrawal gave direct entry to Nick Kyrgios–who had previously been in with a wild card.
As for Djokovic, there is a glimmer of hope that he will be granted access into the United States in time for the U.S. Open. On Thursday the CDC announced that “unvaccinated people now have the same guidance as vaccinated people.” There has been no update to travel restrictions in the country, but the CDC added that those guidelines are being reviewed. The 21-time Grand Slam champion has two weeks for the U.S. to change its policy.
Djokovic may be out, but Cincinnati will have Rafael Nadal in the field. Nadal announced earlier this week that he is ready to return and he was already seen practicing at the venue on Thursday.
The 36-year-old Spaniard has a chance to regain the No. 1 ranking after Cincinnati, which would give him the top seed at the U.S. Open. That will be the case if Nadal wins the title and Daniil Medvedev loses prior to the quarterfinals.
This marks Nadal’s first appearance at the Cincinnati Masters since 2017 and he is bidding for his second title, having previously triumphed in 2013.
it’s getting interesting….
Yes but it is by no means a done deal that Novax will play. They say they are looking at updating their advice for travellers over the coming weeks.
It’s still entirely possible he won’t be able to play. It’s less than 2 weeks until.the draw.
amy,
Are you talking about the USO?
Nny, yes! Some outlets are reporting he will be able to play now which is surely uncertain?
In any event, we don’t want the farce of the AO to happen again….
amy,
I just heard that they are easing up on the Covid restrictions in this country now. I thought that meant that unvaccinated people were not agree from coming into the country.
I absolutely do not want to see what happened at the AO again!
I meant to write that unvaccinated people are allowed into the country.
I personally hope he does get playing but not by bending rules . And they need to make the decision soon. We dont want the same mess as there was in Australia.
Oh…are you demanding that the CDC makes a decision “real soon?” We have enough Americans spreading the virus unnecessarily so I hope the CDC keeps the unvaccinated out of the country. What he tried to do in Australia is unconscionable. He can always hold his own tournament in Serbia.
Abby, totally agree with you.
I don’t think the US Government’s concern is whether plays the USO or not. I’m sure they have better things to worry about.
Yes, announce the decision and stop the speculation.
I can’t tell you how totally unimportant tennis, the USO and Novak Djokovic are to the USA CDC. They’ll make their decision when they get around to it. They’re a bureaucracy. You would have had a better shot with Trump who sorta knew who Djokovic and Nadal are and what the US Open is. Don’t think Biden’s a tennis fan.
What does Trump or Biden have to do with this? There is no need to inject politics into this. We have enough problems in this country right now and whether Novak is or is not going to play at the USO is not one of them.
Well after the international attention over the debacle in Melbourne, they may just want to avoid that.
Sport has an important part to play in human well being, maybe even more so when there are serious problems in a country, eg the Russia-Ukraine war ,which is why I think it was wrong to ban Russian players from Wimbledon. Sport is a great leveller , thats why it was invented.
So I feel the importance of Novax being allowed to enter the US Open is being played down here.
Not when he has a chance of maybe winning the title and the implications?
‘Maybe he should have taken up Golf then Trump would have loved him ‘:)
I didn’t agree with the Wimbledon ban, Russian players are no more responsible for Putin than I am for ******* Johnson. In fact Rublev, I think, wrote an anti war sentiment on the camera after one win. But Novak has made an individual decision, quite different. I respect it, but there are consequences.
It is different yeah, but to say it’s not important in the overall scheme of things- well,it can be,esp.if you are a huge tennis fan.
Just seen I’m 51st in the standings, just now. OMG genius obviously?
NOT! Ha!
WooHoo, Margot!
I’ll have to go check out the brackets.
Kpuppy has 57 points, and Margot is at 55 points. Everyone else is in the 40-somethings or below, like Big Al and I are at the bottom 34 and 35, respectively.
Vamos Rafa!!!!