Novak Djokovic’s expulsion from Australia after a legal battle with local authorities for trying to play the Open without being vaccinated raised questions about the Serb’s presence at the rest of the season’s Grand Slams. The next one, Roland Garros, will start on May 22 in Paris and at first it seemed that Nole could miss it due to the requirements that France has been imposing on people who wanted to cross its borders. But a recently approved change in regulations has opened the doors for it.
Now the European country, according to Gazette, will allow entry to those who, without having been vaccinated, have overcome COVID in the six months prior to their arrival. In the process that culminated in the deportation of the Balkan from Australia, he accredited a positive test carried out in mid-December of last year. That means his window of entry to France would last well into June, when Roland Garros will have concluded.
Thus, Novak could defend the title won in 2021, when he defeated the Greek Tsitsipas in the final after getting off Rafa Nadal in an epic semifinal duel. The news comes after the French government first assured that he could participate despite not being vaccinated, a position corrected last week by the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, who said that the complete guideline would be required from the fans and the staff involved in the organization of the event.
As for Wimbledon and the US Open, the situation is somewhat different.. For the first, he could enter the United Kingdom without being vaccinated, as long as he complies with the ten days of quarantine and in that period of negative in two tests. The United States, on the other hand, asks for the complete guideline from all those who want to enter the country. They will not be sued, according to what was stated by its director, Richard Krajicek, at the ATP 500 in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). “He is the best in the world and he is always welcome in Rotterdam,” says the former tennis player.
On the other hand, Gazette collects this Sunday statements from the president of Tennis Australia, the federation of the oceanic country, in which he assures that Djokovic believes “playing” the Australian Open in 2023. “At the end of the day he is the strongest in the world and he loves this tournament,” he says. He also denies the possibility that the Serb is going to sue the entity he presides over for his expulsion from the country: “There is no intention of putting together a case. It is being talked about and will continue to be talked about, but right now we are focused solely on the organization of this great event “.