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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 03: Novak Djokovic (L) of Serbia greet with John McEnroe during the Centre Court Centenary Celebration during day seven of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 03, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 03: Novak Djokovic (L) of Serbia greet with John McEnroe during the Centre Court Centenary Celebration during day seven of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 03, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic has put his racquet to rest this year for any more grand slams. The Serbian player recently announced that he will not play at the US Open. John McEnroe expressed his discontent towards the ban on the player for the US Open.
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The ban has come under the compulsion of people traveling to the USA to be vaccinated. This has led to the tennis star dropping out of the hard-court major.
John McEnroe expresses frustration with Djokovic not being a part of the US Open
The American tennis legend expressed his discontent with banning the Serbian player from playing at the US Open. At first, he expressed his disapproval of the step taken by the Australian Open. McEnroe said, “Look: He got thrown out of Australia. He could have won that, obviously. He could be in a different situation.”
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Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 5, 2022 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during his quarter final match against Italy’s Jannik Sinner REUTERS/Toby Melville
Consequently, he connected the dots as Rafa would have lost, as per him, had Djokovic played at the Australian Open. He said, “Then you take one (major) away from Rafa, or maybe two, because I’m sure (bouncing back from Australia) took three months.”
He empathized with the Serbian player’s exhaustion of starting again and falling back to square one. McEnroe stated, “You could tell his head wasn’t right. Physically, it took him to Wimbledon where he was all the way back, and now he goes through this again. It’s really a shame.” McEnroe had previously taken a dig at the US authorities for not allowing Nole to play at the US Open.
How will the 2022 US Open look without Novak Djokovic?
Djokovic has won three US Open titles in the past and one grand slam at Wimbledon this year. So, his absence obviously cuts down the competition for the hard-court major. However, Rafael Nadal who has had an astounding performance on the court this year will be present. Apart from that, Daniil Medvedev, the defending champion will also be present at the US Open.
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All in all, Djokovic’s absence will be profitable but there will be other players to put up a tough competition for the title.
Written by
Edited by
Vibhanshu Kumar