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Novak Djokovic US Open 2021

‘Novak Djokovic may only play one Slam in 2022’ worries former coach


Ricardo Piatti believes that if Novak Djokovic is indeed unvaccinated and remains so during the season he may only be allowed to play Roland Garros this season. 

Speculation continues as to whether or not the world number one will play the upcoming Australian Open which kicks off in just two weeks on 17th January.

Now, Piatti, who coached Djokovic between 2005 and 2006, is worried that the Serb may not be permitted to contest Wimbledon and the US Open either.

“Djokovic may only play at Roland Garros because you have to be vaccinated to enter the United Kingdom and also outside Europe,” Piatti explained to Italian media at the ATP Cup.

Current travel restrictions require that you are fully vaccinated to enter the UK, while non-US citizens must also be vaccinated in order to enter the USA.

As such, Djokovic would not be able to play any of the US Masters 1000 events either, those being the Miami Open, Indian Wells and Cincinnati Masters.

The nine-time Australian Open champion continues to train in Marbella, Spain, where he was spotted hitting in recent days.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has revealed that fans will know if Djokovic will play the event in the coming days, though he admitted the window is closing.

“As far as the status relates to [Djokovic], I think we’ll have a much clearer picture in the coming days,” he said.

Should Djokovic miss the event it would end his streak of 17 consecutive appearances in Melbourne since his debut in 2005 at the age of 18.

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