Novak Djokovic, upon arrival at Belgrade airport. /
France will not let the Serbian enter if he is not vaccinated, so after Australia, he would not be able to play the second Grand Slam of the season either and he would only have Wimbledon left.
Far from being an isolated case, Novak Djokovic’s experience in Australia seems to be a precedent for what will happen the rest of the season. The Serbian, who received a warm welcome from fans on his arrival in Belgrade on Monday, suffered another headache just 24 hours after his deportation from Australia was decreed. Now France is the country that will not allow him to play the Roland Garros tournament that will be played between May 22. This was stated by the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, reversing what she announced just a few days ago.
Maracineanu, in the midst of the Djokovic scandal, pointed out that unvaccinated tennis players could go to Paris, but with more restrictions than the rest, that is, without being able to access common rooms or choose a place of residence during the competition. However, this Monday she changed her mind and, while the Gallic Parliament approved the mandatory vaccination certificate for certain activities in France, she announced that being vaccinated will be an essential requirement to be able to play Roland Garros.
“The vaccination pass has been adopted. As soon as the law is enacted, it will be mandatory to enter public spaces with the full schedule (stadiums, theaters or pavilions) for all French or foreign spectators, athletes and professionals,” the French Sports Minister rectified in her official Twitter account. Twitter. «Thanks to the sports movement for the convincing work with the last cases of unvaccinated. We will work together to preserve the competitions and be the ambassadors of these measures at an international level”, added Maracineanu.
In Spain, after the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, assured that Djokovic “would be a great claim” for the Mutua Madrid Open that will begin on April 26, although he specified that “it will be the Government of the nation that say if you meet the entry criteria”, Pedro Sánchez, recalled that “without the intention of polemicizing, anyone has to comply with the health regulations of Spain” and that “there is no one above the regulations”. “I remember the words of Nadal, who highlighted the suffering of the world population with the pandemic,” said the President of the Government.
Wimbledon only
The decision of France is a tremendous setback for Djokovic, although in Paris it is where he has been crowned the fewest times. On just two occasions, 2016 and 2021, the world number one has lifted the silver cup at the Philippe Chatrier, mainly because Nadal has almost always crossed his path. With the Roland Garros slam, Djokovic loses a new Grand Slam on his calendar. He will not be able to play the US Open in Australia, Paris or New York, where he will also be asked for the complete schedule to be able to cross the border. Only Wimbledon remains, the most permissive. You will have to quarantine for ten days (can be cut to five) and with PCR on days two and eight of your stay, in order to enter Great Britain.
His decision not to get vaccinated, complicated to turn around due to the firm beliefs of the player, may cost him to become the best in history. An honor that can be defended in his favor with many arguments, but to which he would consecrate the long-awaited twenty-first Grand Slam. In addition, his season is in limbo. He will not be able to play the Masters 1,000 in Indian Wells and Miami in March. Neither is Cincinnati in the summer. Djokovic, who had shaped his sporting life to give priority to the greats, has been stripped of them. And meanwhile, Australia returns to normal. Overcome the Djokovic case, the tournament turns the page. The last breaths of one of the most elusive issues in the history of recent tennis, but the players already show their fed up with it. Naomi Osaka, champion of four Grand Slam titles, was asked about her opinion and she couldn’t have been clearer. “Is it going to change anything I say? No, right? Well, I prefer not to talk about it, “replied the Japanese.
Nadal, after winning in the first round at the Australian Open, also positioned himself in favor of putting this case aside once and for all. “I’m already tired of this. A week ago, when he won in the first instance, I said that justice had spoken. They said that the visa was correct and fair. Yesterday (for Sunday) justice said something different and I will never go against justice. What I believe is that the ideal in the world of sports is that the best play the best tournaments. If Djokovic had played it was the best for everyone, “said the Spaniard, who remains the only representative of the ‘Big Three’ in the tournament due to Roger Federer’s knee injury.
.
