The 22-time Grand Slam champion said the Serbian’s absence will affect the fans, the tournament and the players.
Novak Djokovic will officially not play in this year’s U.S. Open tournament due to him being unvaccinated for COVID-19. He withdrew from the Grand Slam tournament since he could not travel to the United States.
A day after this news broke, Rafael Nadal was asked what his thoughts were on Djokovic’s situation.
“From my personal perspective, it’s very sad news,” Nadal said. “It’s always a shame when the best players of the world are not able to play a tournament because of injuries or because of different reasons. In this case, not having one of the best players of the history in the draw of Grand Slam is always an important miss, no?”
This is the second Grand Slam tournament that Djokovic has missed this year due to his vaccination status. He was deported out of Australia ahead of the Australian Open in January.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion compared Djokovic’s absence for the U.S. Open to whenever a great player has to miss a tournament due to injury. The fans, tournament and players are affected no matter what the reason.
“As I said, tough for the fans, tough for the tournament,” Nadal added. “In my opinion, tough for the players, too, because we want to have the best field possible. But, in the other hand, I repeat what I said plenty of times: the sport in some ways is bigger than any player. I missed a lot of important events in my tennis career because of injuries, without a doubt. Last year I was not here. Two years ago I was not here. The tournament continues. The world of tennis keep going.”
“The Big Four”—Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray—have won all but 10 Grand Slam tournaments since Federer won Wimbledon in 2003. Djokovic has 21 career Grand Slam titles, just one behind Nadal.
“Without a doubt, Novak is one of the most important players of the last 20 years, the history of our sport,” Nadal said. “In a personal way I feel sorry for him that he’s not able to travel here.”
The two tennis players will compete together next month on Team Europe for the Laver Cup. It’s unknown whether Djokovic will play in any tournaments ahead of the Laver Cup.
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