(Tennis news) Novak Djokovic had applied for special permission to enter the United States to compete in the Miami Open but it has been denied due to his COVID-19 vaccination status. The US still requires international visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and proof is required for entry until at least 10th April. The 35 year old Serbian was forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells for the same reason and it remains to be seen if he will miss the US Open as well later this year.

Miami Open tournament director James Blake said “Obviously, we’re one of the premier tournaments in the world, we’d like to have the best players that can play. We did all that we could. We tried to talk to the government, but that’s out of our hands. We tried, and he wasn’t able to play. Same result that he had in Indian Wells, where I know [fellow tournament director] Tommy Haas did as much as he could. We tried to get Novak Djokovic to be allowed to get an exemption, but that wasn’t able to happen. We’d love to have him, and he’s our greatest champion, he’s won six times here. Unfortunately, that’s way above my pay grade.”

Djokovic was deported from Australia last year as he attempted to participate in the Australian Open despite not being vaccinated. The Serbian then went on to say that he would rather miss Grand Slams than get vaccinated. With cases falling everyday, the Serbian was permitted to enter Australia earlier this year where he won his 10th Australian Open title, equalling Rafael Nadal’s tally of 22 Grand Slams. The 35 year old succumbed to his first defeat this season, losing to Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. He will now compete at the Monte Carlo Masters from 9 April.

Also read: Frances Tiafoe defeats Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 in the Indian Wells quarter-finals