Former British No. 1 weighs in on Novak Djokovic US Open ban

Former world No. 5 Jo Durie says it will be “a real shame” if Novak Djokovic misses out on the US Open.

Djokovic, 35, hasn’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 and he is in real danger of missing out on his second Grand Slam tournament in 2022.

Earlier this year, Djokovic didn’t get a chance to compete for a record 10th Australian Open title.

As per the current United States vaccine laws, unvaccinated foreigners can’t enter the country.

“What a mess at the beginning of the year in Australia. Bad communication and it was really tough on him,” Durie told Tennis365. “Now we have the US Open and he can’t go to that. He has pulled out of the Canadian (Open) because he is not vaccinated. He is so strong mentally with the things he wants to do, but it looks tough at the moment. It’s unfortunate. That’s the rules in America at the moment. Most countries have opened up now, but who am I to say (whether he should be allowed to play)? It’s a real shame that he can’t go and play at the moment because obviously he would be the favourite.”

Djokovic out of Montreal

This week, Djokovic officially pulled out of next week’s Montreal Masters.

Just like the United States, Canada also requires foreigners to show the proof of vaccination upon entering the country.

Djokovic is now set to miss his third Masters of the season and in two weeks weeks he will likely miss out on his fourth Masters of the year.

In March, Djokovic was not allowed to enter the United States for the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami.

Now, Djokovic is set to skip Montreal and he will likely also miss out on the Cincinnati Masters, which starts right after Montreal.

It remains to be seen if Djokovic will play during this year’s North American hard court swing.