Novak Djokovic Still Undecided About US Open 2020 Participation

The US Open could be struggling to keep the big names. Recently their defending champion and World No.2 Rafael Nadal decided to not travel to the US. He finds the situation risky and so won’t participate. But now reports suggest that Novak Djokovic also hasn’t made up his mind on whether to join the main draw or not.

With Nadal not participating, losing Djokovic would be a huge loss. Overall the ‘Big 3’ are a brand in themselves and so losing them could hamper the tournament’s appeal. Roger Federer is rehabbing from knee surgery and he will be out until December.

According to Sasa Ozmo, a journalist at the Serbian website SportKlub, Djokovic has not yet made a decision on participation and his decision will come in the next few days.

Novak Djokovic to make a decision regarding his participation in the US Open in a few days

Other major withdrawals from the US Open are Nick Kyrgios and Ash Barty.

The men’s draw still has a significant amount of young talent with the likes of Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The women’s draw has Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and Bianca Andreescu.

In Djokovic’s case, he might eventually participate at the US Open as the Madrid Open is canceled. The Masters 1000 tournament was supposed to be the next tournament after the US Open but the surge in COVID cases in Spain prompted the organizers towards cancelation.

But what might be bugging Djokovic is the quarantine. Currently, the players aren’t sure about the mandatory quarantine when going to Europe from the US. If the mandatory 14-day quarantine is applied the players will not be able to participate in the French Open. So Djokovic might get that question sorted before making the decision.

The US Open begins on the 31st of August. And some strict protocols are in place to avoid the virus. It will be strange to not have the ‘Big 3’ in a Grand Slam if Djokovic pulls out.

Source: Twitter – Sasa Ozmo