The Covid-19 vaccine continues to cause problems for
Novak Djokovic
.
This time, the world number one will not be able to play the tournament in
Indian Wells
and had to withdraw from it, after his attempt to enter the United States to play the competition in southern California was rejected.
The organizers of the trophy, which begins on Wednesday and ends on March 19, gave notice of his withdrawal from the main draw late on Sunday.
Florida Republican Senator
Rick Scott
posted on Twitter that homeland security had rejected Djokovic's request for a vaccine exemption, which would have allowed him to play in back-to-back tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, between March 19 and April 2.
The number one drop was to be expected as the United States will be ending its COVID-19 emergency declaration on May 19, which will allow foreign visitors to enter the country without having been vaccinated.
In this way, it will be the
fourth time in a row
that Djokovic has missed Indian Wells (adding 2020 due to the pandemic) and it is also difficult for him to participate in the
Miami Open
, since March 19.
Faced with this last-minute loss, the person who replaces Djokovic is the Georgian
Nikoloz Basilashvili (118th)
.
The Serbian comes from being eliminated and losing his undefeated in this 2023 in the semifinals of the Dubai Championship, last Friday, against Medvedev.
Novak Djokovic lost his undefeated record in 2023 against Medvedev.
Photo: Frabeland Charles Mallari.
Alcaraz, benefited
Despite this loss, Novak Djokovic completed his 379th week as world number one in the ATP ranking, but the Serbian meets again with the threat of the young Spanish
Carlos Alcaraz (2nd)
, who can recover the throne achieved last year if to win the title of Indian Wells.
It is worth remembering that the Spanish player is on a good run after winning the Argentina Open after beating Cameron Norrie on February 19.
Later, he would reach the final in Rio de Janeiro, in which Norrie would take revenge.
Alcaraz is the champion of the Argentina Open Tennis 2023. Photo Maxi Failla - FTP CLARIN
In the remainder of the Top10, in the ranking published this Monday, the Top 5 remains unchanged, with Tsitsipas, Ruud and Fritz behind the Djokovic-Alcaraz duo.
Instead, the Russian Daniil Medvedev reaps the rewards of his three successive titles, the last one on Saturday in Dubai, recovering sixth place (+1) to the detriment of his compatriot Andrey Rublev (7th).
In eighth position, the Danish Holger Rune gains two places, thanks to his semifinal in Acapulco, while the Spanish legend Rafael Nadal (9th, -1) continues to recover from his left leg, he will not be in Indian Wells and Miami, and on the 20th March will be out of the top ten in the world.
Source: AP
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