Tennis legend John McEnroe has described the potential exclusion of Novak Djokovic from the US Open as 'ridiculous', urging US authorities to relax Covid-19 vaccine rules to allow the world No 2 to compete. Djokovic, who won his 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon on Sunday, remains unvaccinated and has stated he will not get the jab, putting his participation in the New York tournament in doubt.
Current US regulations require all non-immigrant foreign travellers to show proof of full vaccination, meaning Djokovic cannot enter the country. McEnroe called on President Joe Biden to intervene, saying: 'These politicians are getting in the way too much – they did it in Australia. Let the guy come in and play in the US. I mean come on. This is ridiculous. You can agree to be tested. There’s got to be a way around this.'
Djokovic, who was infamously deported from Australia in January over his vaccine status, reiterated his stance after his Wimbledon victory. 'I'm not vaccinated and I'm not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card to enter the United States,' he said. 'I'll wait hopefully for some good news from the US because I would really love to go there.'
The Serbian star added that if he cannot play in the US Open, he will reassess his schedule, but stressed he is not in a rush to end his career. Meanwhile, his wife Jelena became embroiled in a social media spat with a tennis journalist who labelled Djokovic an 'anti-vax poster boy', defending her husband's right to make his own health choices.
