France will no longer require the vaccination certificate from March 14. “We will suspend the application of the covid passport. The next measure will be to put an end to the compulsory use of the mask, except on public transport,” announced Jean Castex, French Prime Minister. So Djokovic will try to revalidate the Roland Garros he won last year.
The news comes after months of controversy in which the Serb preferred to sacrifice his career than get vaccinated. “The principles of making decisions about my body are more important than any title or anything. I’m trying to be as in tune with my body as I can,” Djokovic said in a BBC interview. In December, Olivier Véran, Minister of Health in the government of Emmanuel Macron, announced that 75% of French people were already vaccinated. Currently, almost 80% already have the complete guideline. In this way, Djokovic will take advantage of the involvement of much of the Gallic population to participate in his big tournament.
Djokovic has seen Russia’s Daniel Medvedev take the top spot in the ATP rankings in the last week. On the other hand, in the last few hours the Serb has announced that he has decided to separate his path from that of his coach, Marian Vajda, with whom he has been working since 2006. Vajda was not in Melbourne at any time, nor in the arrival of Djokovic not even at the time the tennis player was deported.
Defending the title in Paris
Djokovic’s expulsion became a matter of state for Serbia. Populist President Aleksandar Vucic has accused Australia of turning the player into a “scapegoat to divert attention from the mismanagement” they have made of the pandemic, despite having its borders closed for almost 600 days. Asking for the player’s freedom, Vucic said the Australian government was acting in the face of the gallery, “to earn points among voters”.
The Serb will compete in the clay court season. In addition to defending the French Grand Slam, which he won in 2021 against Stefanos Tsisipas, he will be able to compete in tournaments in Monte Carlo, Belgrade, Madrid and Rome. In Paris, he will try to raise his third Roland Garros.
