Unvaccinated Tennis Star Novak Djokovic Withdraws from Montreal Tournament

Unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic withdraws from Montreal tournament; Novak Djokovic withdrew from the upcoming hard court tournament in Montreal on Thursday because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and was therefore not allowed to enter Canada.

For the same reason as now, he will also not be able to compete in the US Open later this month.
Djokovic, 35, from Serbia, said he would not get the vaccine, even if it meant he could not go to specific tournaments. He missed the Australian Open in January after being deported from that country and needed to sit out two events in the United States earlier this year.

He has already played at the French Open, losing in the quarter-finals to Rafael Nadal, and at Wimbledon, which Djokovic won last month for his 21st Grand Slam title – one behind Nadal’s men’s record.
Unvaccinated foreign nationals cannot go to Canada or the United States, so Djokovic withdrew from Montreal one day before the scheduled draw date for the tournament and is expected to sit at the U.S. Open, which begins in New York on Aug. 29.

Last weekend, Djokovic posted on social media that he was hoping for a chance to play in the US Open, writing: “I’m preparing as if I’m going to be allowed to compete while waiting to see if there’s anywhere. For me to travel to the United States. Finger tangle! ”

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After beating Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final on July 10, Djokovic said he would “like” to participate in this year’s last Grand Slam tournament at Flushing Meadows but acknowledged, “I’m not planning on getting vaccinated.”
Djokovic is a three-time champion at the U.S. Open. His loss to Daniil Medvedev in last year’s final prevented Djokovic from becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the calendar year’s Grand Slam.

Oscar Otte also withdrew from Montreal on Thursday. Kyrgios and Benjamin Ponzi moved to the arc.
Four berths went to three-time major champion Andy Murray, David Goffin, Vasek Pospisil, and Alexis Gallardo.

Nadal, who withdrew from Wimbledon before the semi-finals due to a ruptured abdominal muscle, is still scheduled to play in Montreal.