Colin Abgrall 9:28 p.m., August 08, 2022

The Montreal tournament which begins this Monday in Canada refused the participation of Novak Djokovic, who is not vaccinated against Covid-19.

If the Serb, now sixth in the world, does not obtain an exemption for the US Open, he could well make his Grand Slam return only at Roland-Garros 2023, leaving the field open to Rafael Nadal.

A scenario that is likely to repeat itself: not vaccinated against Covid-19, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic will miss the Masters 1000 in Montreal which starts this Monday, and the Serb could also miss the US Open in New York, late August-early September.

The participation of the ex-world number one, victorious three times at Flushing Meadows, is for the moment compromised for these same reasons of vaccines.

Several voices are raised in favor of his presence and speak of injustice.

In reality, non-vaccinated American players will be allowed to participate, which is not the case for foreigners.

However, there is a solution: a US law may allow exemption from vaccination rules if the person in question represents a national interest.

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Banned from entering Australia for three years

If the Wimbledon winner does not take part in the last round of the Grand Slam tournaments, Novak Djokovic will lose big in the ATP rankings, but also in the race for the number of titles in the premier category of tennis.

For the current sixth in the world, the tumble could continue because it should also be remembered that he is no longer authorized to enter Australian territory for three years after the enormous imbroglio that occurred at the start of the season.

His visa to play the Australian Open had been refused twice by the authorities who then sent him home.

In the probable event that the Serb does not play in the United States or Australia, Novak Djokovic would be back in Grand Slam only at Roland-Garros in 2023. He would leave the field open to his Spanish rival Rafael Nadal who, with 22 titles in this category, could increase his lead over "Nole", still behind with 21 trophies.