Top journalist defends Novak Djokovic

• Tennis News
• Novak Djokovic

After a few relatively quiet months, Novak Djokovic's calendar is once again an unknown. The former world number 1 does not know if he will be able to travel to the United States to compete in the US Open, which will start on Monday 29 August in Flushing Meadows (New York).

The Serbian phenomenon has experienced a fairly troubled 2022, also thanks to its choice not to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus. Nole was unable to defend his Australian Open title earlier this year and was expelled from the country after a nearly two-week soap opera.

For the same reason, the 35-year-old from Belgrade also had to give up the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Miami in the spring. Goran's protege Ivanisevic lifted his season by triumphing at Wimbledon for the seventh time in his career and equaled his idol Pete Sampras.

The 'Djoker' has thus hoisted himself to 21 Slams, shortening the gap that separates him from Rafael Nadal in the all-time ranking. A few hours ago, the CDC announced that people who are not vaccinated will be subject to the same rules as those who are vaccinated.

A window opens for Novak, with just over two weeks left before the start of the last major of the season.

Travis opens up on Djokovic

Clay Travis, a sports journalist and founder of sports media company OutKick, has questioned Novak Djokovic's US Open ban despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revising its COVID-19 guidelines.

"How can @DjokerNole be banned from playing in the US Open when the CDC just announced there is now no longer any difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated? He should be able to play. Period," wrote Travis. During an exclusive interview with Essentially Sports, the tennis Hall of Famer opened up about the rise of young talent in tennis while talking about Djokovic and Nadal’s chances at the US Open this year.

He said, “It’s going to be interesting to see the US Open because at the moment, Djokovic cannot play and it’s going to be, is going to be interesting to see if Nadal is going to be fit enough and strong enough to play in well-heated from the stomach injury as well…” Earlier this week, the 22-time Grand Slam champion pulled out of the National Bank Open in Montreal after failing to recover in time from his abdominal injury. He suffered this injury during his quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon.