‘We Tried to Talk to the Government’ – Miami Open Director James Blake Expresses His Disappointment With Novak Djokovic’s Ban From the Tournament

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is having a hard time lately trying to participate in some of the biggest tournaments hosted in the United States. After the Serb withdrew from this year’s Indian Wells Masters, his fans were hoping that he would be allowed for the second event of the ‘Sunshine Double’. However, the US Covid-19 mandate has once again made it very clear that, owing to his unvaccinated status, Djokovic will not be allowed to participate in the Miami Open.

Despite efforts from Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis and senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Djokovic’s appeal for a special permit to the USA was turned down due to the COVID policy. Following this decision, Miami Open director James Blake expressed his views on Djokovic’s ban in a recent interview. He expressed his disappointment with the decision, while stating that he has no choice in the matter.

Novak Djokovic is going to sit this one out

The Miami Open is going to be missing one of its top players as a result of the vaccine policy. While talking about the government’s decision to ban Djokovic’s participation, Blake said, “Obviously, we’re one of the premier tournaments in the world. We’d like to have the best players that can play”. The better the players are, the better the tournament performs as a whole- in terms of popularity and profit both.

However, expressing the tournament’s helplessness, Blake says, “We did all that we could. We tried to talk to the government, but that’s out of our hands”. Blake also mentions that Tommy Haas also faced a similar distressing situation last month. “Same result that he had in Indian Wells…Tommy Haas did as much as he could. We tried to get Novak Djokovic to be allowed to get an exemption, but that wasn’t able to happen.”

Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in January, has received a lot of flak for remaining unvaccinated. In 2022, the 22-time Grand Slam champion was denied participation in major events owing to “health and good order” grounds.

Read more: Still Not Massively Popular Among Fans, Daniil Medvedev Passes Judgement on Legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – ‘How Is This Possible?’

The governor of Florida is beating the drum in support of the Serb

Earlier this month, Ron DeSantis spoke out against the mandate in a tweet directed at President Biden, calling it “President Biden’s misguided and unscientific COVID-19 vaccination requirement for foreigner travelers.” This resistance from the governor is surely making a strong case for Djokovic, but it does not look like the government is going to yield to his requests.

Djokovic’s absence also highlights the ongoing debate surrounding vaccine mandates and personal choice. While some argue that getting vaccinated is a personal responsibility that protects public health, others believe that individuals should have the right to make their own decisions about their health.

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What do you think of the Djokovic ban? Let us know in the comments!