“We did everything for Djokovic, talk to the government, but it’s not possible”

the serbian Novak Djokovic He did not get the necessary exemption to enter the United States without a vaccine against the coronavirus, so he will miss the Miami Masters 1,000, said the tournament director, the former American player. James Blake.

“We are one of the best tournaments in the world and we would like the best players to be able to compete. We did everything we could. We tried to talk to the government, but we couldn’t do anything,” Blake said in an interview broadcast by the channel Tennis Channel television.

“The same thing happened in Indian Wells. I know that tommy haas did everything possible. We tried to get Djokovic an exemption, but it was not possible.”

The Miami tournament will be held from March 19 to April 2, at Miami Hard Rock Stadium.

Djokovic is on the ATP Tour’s regulatory entry list, but his participation is up in the air due to US regulations requiring non-citizens and non-residents to present a coronavirus vaccination certificate.

Djokovic does not meet this requirement because of his refusal to be vaccinated, something that prevented him from competing in US tournaments last year, including the US Open, where he could return in August 2023.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has extended from January 8 to May 11 the obligation to present a certificate of complete vaccination against the coronavirus for non-citizen and non-resident visitors.

In 2022, the Serb did not play the australia tomorrow and did not participate in the American tour, both at the beginning of the campaign, in Indian Wells and Miami, and in the summer, in Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati, in addition to “big” New York