Unvaccinated Djokovic out again
Novak Djokovic pulled out of next week’s hard-court tournament in Cincinnati on Friday because he has not gotten any COVID-19 vaccine shots and so is not allowed to travel to the United States.
That is also why Djokovic is not expected to be able to enter the U.S. Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, which begins in New York on Aug. 29.
Djokovic is a 35-year-old from Serbia who owns 21 major championships, one behind Rafael Nadal for the men’s record. Djokovic has said he won’t get vaccinated against the illness caused by the coronavirus, even if that prevents him from playing in certain tournaments. He missed the Australian Open in January after being deported from that country and needed to sit out two events in the United States earlier this year, along with a tournament in Montreal this week. Unvaccinated foreign citizens can’t go to Canada or the U.S. currently; the Cincinnati tournament’s news release announcing Djokovic’s withdrawal cited “travel restrictions.”
Djokovic has said he was stil holding out hope of being able to enter the U.S. Open, but that would require a change of government policy, which the U.S. Tennis Association says it will adhere to.
Djokovic is a three-time champion at the U.S. Open and was the runner-up last year to Daniil Medvedev.
Other men who have withdrawn from the field in Cincinnati include defending champion Alexander Zverev — the 2020 U.S. Open runner-up tore ankle ligaments at the French Open in June — and injured players Gael Monfils, Reilly Opelka, Oscar Otte and Dominic Thiem. Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins pulled out of the women’s draw because of a neck injury, while three-time major champion Angelique Kerber made a scheduling change and opted not to compete in Cincinnati.
Two-time champion Simona Halep beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Friday to reach the National Bank Open semifinals. Halep, the 30-year-old from Romania, won the event in Montreal in 2016 and 2018. She will face seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. The 15th-seeded Halep is 4-0 against Gauff, the 18-year-old American seeded 10th.
Golf: Ewen Ferguson of Scotland followed up his big opening round with an even-par 70 but it kept him in the lead at the ISPS Handa World Invitational on Friday. The 26-year-old Ferguson, in search of his second European Tour victory, remained on 9 under overall after Friday’s round at Massereene Golf Club.
Soccer: Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi was omitted from the 30-man list of nominees for the prestigious award. It’s the first time since 2005 that the Argentina great didn’t make the short list. Messi edged out Poland striker Robert Lewandowski for the Ballon d’Or last year but wasn’t nominated this time after an underwhelming first season at Paris Saint-Germain. ... The proposed $24 million settlement between U.S. women soccer players and the sport’s American governing body was given preliminary approval by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted the motion for approval filed by the players. He scheduled a Dec. 5 hearing for final approval.