Novak Djokovic: The 1st tennis player in the planet to miss the Miami Open due to his vaccination status

(CNN) Planet quantity a single Novak Djokovic will miss subsequent week’s Miami Open just after getting denied entry to the United States since he has not been vaccinated against Covid-19, tournament director James Blake mentioned Friday.

The United States continues to need foreign guests to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and the Serb, who previously confirmed that he remains unvaccinated, has applied for a specific permit to enter the nation ahead of the tournament.

“We attempted to get Novak Djokovic to get an exemption, but it did not operate,” Blake mentioned in an interview with the Tennis Channel.

“Clearly we are a single of the major tournaments in the planet, we would like to have the ideal players who can play. We did every thing we could. We have attempted to speak to the government, but it is out of our hands. “

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis mentioned earlier this month that he would “run a boat from the Bahamas” for Djokovic to compete in the tennis tournament in Miami.

DeSantis known as on US President Joe Biden to waive the vaccine for international travelers so the 22-time Grand Slam champion could compete.

The 35-year-old Djokovic missed a number of far more tournaments due to his vaccination status. Earlier this month, Djokovic pulled out of the ongoing BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California just after getting denied an exemption. Final year, he missed Indian Wells, the Miami Open and all the tournaments integrated in the US Open swing.

The primary draw of the Miami Open starts on March 22, and the tournament ends on April two.