For Djokovic, trouble is flying in squadron at the start of 2022. Expelled from Australia after two weeks of great political and sporting nonsense, the Serb, who hoped to participate in the Roland-Garros tournament this season, s A stop was eaten by Christophe Castaner, deputy of La République en Marche from the Alpes de Haute-Provence and president of the LaREM group at the National Assembly.
Asked on BFM TV on Monday about the vaccine pass that has been adopted and its consequences for the sporting world, the former Prime Minister declared that “ Djokovic has no vocation to play if he does not respect a rule which will apply to everyone and which applies to spectators, ball boys, professionals who go to work and run a shop at Roland- Garros”. “There is no question that, for great athletes, we derogate from the rule. The rule applies to everyone, ”he recalled, echoing the words of the Minister in charge of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, on Monday.
The government is reviewing its position after the adoption of the vaccination pass
While she had initially hinted that unvaccinated athletes could compete in France if they respected a strict health bubble, this seems to have turned around. “The vaccination pass has been adopted. As soon as the law is enacted, it will become mandatory to enter the ERPs [les établissements recevant du public] already subject to the health pass (stadium, theater or lounge) for all spectators, practitioners, French or foreign professionals, ”she tweeted Monday morning.
At the same time, we learned from government sources confirmation that any athlete, including professional, who would come to our region to compete there, as soon for the Six Nations tournament, should be vaccinated at all costs. The French government has clarified that the vaccination pass would not only apply to amateur and professional athletes based in France but also to foreign athletes who come for competitions. A blow for Gilles Moretton, the president of the French Tennis Federation (FFT), who announced that he was thinking about setting up a system allowing the arrival of unvaccinated players in Paris from May 22 to June 5.
Djoko, also Persona non grata in the USA
If these announcements will not only affect Djoker (are Real Madrid players all vaccinated, those who are supposed to face PSG at the Parc des Princes on February 12?), they still risk complicating the season damn much for him. 2022. Can we only speak of a season for the world number one, if he persists in his refusal to be vaccinated? The question arises since Nole will not be able to go to the United States either to compete in the two Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Miami.
Yes, to even have the right to board a plane bound for Uncle Sam’s country, you must have received your two pikouses in your arm. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but after what he experienced in Melbourne, it is hard to imagine Djokovic embarking on a new showdown with the American authorities. As things stand, public enemy No. 1 in Australia could therefore also not play in the US Open scheduled for Flushing Meadows from August 29 to September 11.
Bad times for unvaccinated athletes
That leaves Wimbledon, which for the moment seems to be the only grand slam that Djokovic would be allowed to play. Indeed, the British government has chosen to impose only a mandatory ten-day quarantine on any unvaccinated person wishing to enter Great Britain. But nothing says that the rules, fluctuating to say the least in times of a pandemic, will not change by then. We can twist and turn the problem in all directions, there is not, the future of the world number one seems completely blocked for the time being.
However, at 34, time is necessarily playing against whoever is chasing the record for the most Grand Slams won (Djoko is still tied with Nadal and Federer, 20 GCs each). As for his place as world number one, even if he has a good lead in terms of points over his pursuers (11,015 points for Djoko against 8,935 for Medvedev, his runner-up), it too could be quickly threatened. Especially since in his absence in Melbourne, the Russian acts as a favorite.
Finally, it was former world number 4 Brad Gilbert who best summed up the situation, during a press conference presenting the system put in place by ESPN for the Australian Open. “It will be a very hard position to hold this year to be a full-time tennis player without being vaccinated, warned the consultant. I think you should expect that you can only play a few tournaments in 2022. And maybe in 2023 you won’t be able to play any more. “A good hearer.