The Serbian had previously paid the price for his refusal to receive the vaccine by deporting him at the beginning of this year from Australia, and thus he was prevented from participating in the first Grand Slam, and was deprived of trying to win his tenth title in Melbourne, and his twenty-first in the “Grand Slam”.
In the absence of any indication that the US authorities will exempt visitors from the vaccine, Djokovic, 35, admitted that Wimbledon, which begins on Monday, will be his last major tournament this year.
When asked whether he adheres to his position rejecting the vaccine, Djokovic quickly said “yes” without any hesitation, which will prevent him from trying to win his fourth title in the Flushing Meadows Championship, which he crowned champion in 2011, 2015 and 2018.
After being deprived of defending his title in Australia, his Spanish rival, Rafael Nadal, took advantage of his absence to crown his twenty-first major title and set the record he shared with Serbian and Swiss Roger Federer, before adding another title by crowning the French champion Roland Garros.
As a result of his inability to travel to the United States, Djokovic missed the Indian Wells and Miami 1,000-point Masters tournaments.
Realizing that participation in Flushing Meadows is outside the accounts unless there is an unlikely change by the American authorities regarding the vaccine, Djokovic will try hard to win Wimbledon for the seventh time.
“As of today, I am not allowed to enter the states under these conditions,” Djokovic said. “It’s extra motivation to do a good job here. I hope to have a good tournament.”
He continued, “I wish I could go to the United States, but that is not possible today. There is not much I can do. It is up to the US government to make a decision on the entry of non-vaccinated people into the country.”
Adding to Djokovic’s desire to win the Wimbledon title, he will join only three players who have won the English championship four times in a row, namely Sweden’s Bjorn Borg, American Pete Sampras and Federer.
The Serbian, who fell in the professional rankings from first to third behind Russian Daniil Medvedev and German Alexander Zverev, spoke about the importance of the English championship for him, saying: “When I was a child at the age of seven or eight, I dreamed of winning Wimbledon and becoming number one. When Pete Sampras won Wimbledon for the first time, it was the first match I watched tennis on TV.”
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