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Novak Djokovic to be ruled out of US Open as organisers to follow govt's guidelines on COVID-19 vaccine

Novak Djokovic to be ruled out of US Open as organisers to follow govt's guidelines on COVID-19 vaccine

Novak Djokovic likely to miss US Open 2022 due to vaccine status

Wimbledon 2022 champion Novak Djokovic has been dealt with a huge blow. The Serbian's Covid-19 vaccination is not a hidden fact anymore and his reluctance to take the jab is set to rule him out of the US Open 2022 edition, i.e. the last Grand Slam of the calendar year.

With the tournament organisers set to abide by the US government's guidelines on Covid vaccination, Djokovic's refusal to get vaccinated will eventually prevent him from entering the country for the forthcoming showpiece event. Despite this, he has been named on the entry list. If he doesn't participate in the tournament, the 35-year-old will also miss a golden opportunity to level with Rafael Nadal in terms of most Grand Slam titles in men's singles (22). After the Wimbledon win, over Nick Kyrgios, Djokovic has 21 major titles.

Just after winning Wimbledon 2022 on July 10, the Serbian superstar had pointed out, "I'm not vaccinated and I'm not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter United States or exemption." He added, "I don't know. I don't think exemption is realistically possible. If that is possibility, I don't know what exemption would be about. I don't know. I don't have much answers there."

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"Per the Grand Slam Rule Book, all eligible players are automatically entered into the men's and women's singles main draw fields based on ranking 42 days prior to the first Monday of the event," said a statement by the United States Tennis Association. "The US Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, but it will respect the U.S. government's position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens," it further asserted.

The US Open will kick off on August 29 and the final will be held on September 11. Earlier, Djokovic had missed Australian Open 2022 after he was deported back to his country following the Covid vaccination row.