Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he will not be vaccinated even if it is difficult for him to give up playing several tournaments. For now, the Serbian will reappear this week in Dubai, where he is allowed to play despite not being vaccinated. His agenda thereafter is subject to the rules in force in each country or tournament. In Italy, the Undersecretary of Sports , Valentina Vezzali, has opened the doors to play the tournament at the Foro Italico next May because it is an outdoor event, but the Undersecretary of Health has said that they cannot be done exceptions. This has led to a crossover of versions between the two ministries on the possibility or not of the Serb playing the next Masters 1000 in Rome.
Novak Djokovic is about to make his official season debut. He will do so with his participation in the Dubai tournament -from February 21 to 26-, the only insurance at this time on his agenda after confirming that he is not in his plans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The Serbian runs the risk of missing a large part of the circuit tournaments, a consequence that he is willing to assume to assert his principles. In addition, he has assured that everything that has happened makes him return with “additional motivation” and, also, that he hopes that the rules will change and allow his presence in the different tournaments.
Precisely this week, in Italy, the Undersecretary of Sports, Valentina Vezzali , opened the doors to a possible presence of Novak Djokovic at the Masters 1000 in Rome, a tournament that the Serbian has won five times and in which he was a finalist last year against Rafael Nadal. “It is an outdoor sport,” Vezzali pointed out, so “the strictest Green Pass (covid-19 certificate) is not necessary. So if Djokovic wants to come to Italy to play, he can. Perhaps without visiting hotels and restaurants,” Vezzali said in an interview in the Italian newspaper Libero .
“You must set a good example”
The Undersecretary of Health, Andrea Costa, has echoed Vezzali’s statements and has openly confessed that he is against the presence of Novak Djokovic at the Masters 1000 in Rome -from May 9 to 15-. “I am not convinced by the reasons with which Undersecretary Vezzali said that Djokovic will be able to participate in Rome, there are rules that must be respected as long as they exist,” Costa said on the 24 Mattino radio program.
“Making fronts, floodgates, giving exceptions, we end up giving the wrong messages,” added Costa. In addition, he considered that everyone is “equal before the rules and regulations” and, therefore, people like Novak Djokovic, or “whoever has a large number of followers”, should help “set a good example” about the problem that has generated the covid-19 pandemic.
After Costa’s words, came the reply from the Ministry of Sports. “The current regulations do not provide for the practice of individual, non-contact and outdoor sports, including tennis, the obligation of the super Green Pass . There has never been any talk of granting an exemption to the tennis player Novak Djokovic, it was only reiterated what the current legislation is, “they pointed out.
Important tournaments such as Indian Wells, Miami or the start of the clay tour in Monte Carlo will be played in the coming months, but today the Serb is only guaranteed his presence in Dubai this coming week, during which he will fight to try to maintain number one, in a hard fight with Daniil Medvedev, who depends on himself to become number one in the ATP.
