Novak Djokovic's US Open 2022 hopes: Key dates and why potential withdrawal timing matters to draw
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Updated 23/08/2022 at 14:31 GMT
Novak Djokovic is still waiting to see if he can play the US Open but time is running out and the timing of his potential withdrawal will impact the draw. The 21-time Grand Slam champion is currently seeded fifth for the tournament but is unable to enter the United States due to being unvaccinated for Covid-19. The US Open starts on August 29 with Daniil Medvedev the defending men's champion.
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The waiting game goes on for Novak Djokovic.
After the high of winning his 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July, Djokovic hasn’t played since then as he has been unable to travel to the ATP Tour's most recent tournaments in Canada and the United States due to being unvaccinated for Covid-19. With a week to go until the US Open starts in New York it is still not clear if Djokovic will be allowed to enter the country and compete, even though the Covid-19 rules have recently been relaxed.
Djokovic is currently entered into the tournament and is seeded fifth following Alexander Zverev’s withdrawal. However, there is still a significant question mark over his involvement, plus several implications on the draw if he pulls out at different times over the next week.
What happens if Djokovic withdraws before the draw?
The draw for the US Open is set to take place on Thursday, August 25.
This is the moment when all the first-round matches will be made and players’ potential paths to the final will be plotted out.
There are 32 seeded players in the men’s and women’s singles draws based on the highest 32 ranked players in the world rankings. Daniil Medvedev will be men’s top seed with world No. 1 and Iga Swiatek the women’s equivalent.
Djokovic is the world No. 6 but the fifth seed as it stands after Zverev pulled out due to an ankle injury which he sustained in the semi-finals of the French Open.
As with Zverev’s withdrawal, which was made on Monday, if Djokovic pulls out before the draw is made on Thursday then every seed will simply move up a place. So current sixth seed Casper Ruud would take Djokovic’s place as fifth seed, current seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime would move up to six, and so on.
Djokovic’s fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic is currently the 33rd highest-ranked player in the draw so would become the final seed in case of a pre-draw withdrawal.
What if Djokovic withdraws after the draw?
If Djokovic does not pull out before Thursday’s draw then that changes things.
The International Tennis Federation Grand Slam rule book states:
“Any vacancy created by the withdrawal of a seed prior to the release of the Order of Play for the first day of Main Draw shall be filled as follows:
- “If the withdrawal is among seeds 5 to 16, the 17th seed is moved into the open position and the 17th position shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded."
As Djokovic is the fifth seed, if he withdraws after the draw, but before the Order of Play for the first day is released (which should be sometime on Sunday, August 28), then 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut would step into the No. 5 spot and Kecmanovic would move up into the 17th spot.
That would clearly throw the draw out of kilter more than Djokovic withdrawing before Thursday.
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But there’s another scenario too, which is that Djokovic may not withdraw until early next week after the first day’s Order of Play has been released.
If he remains in the draw then Djokovic would be scheduled to play his first-round match on either Monday or Tuesday. He may decide to wait until the very last minute to see if the rules change and he is allowed to enter the country and play.
If that happens and Djokovic withdraws after the Order of Play is issued, then his place in the draw will be filled by a 'lucky loser', a player who has lost in qualifying.
That happened at the Australian Open earlier this year when Djokovic was able to enter the country but was then denied a visa and had to pull out of the draw. World No. 146 Salvatore Caruso, who had lost to Japan's Taro Daniel in the third round of qualifying, took Djokovic’s place in the first round.
Where is Djokovic?
Djokovic is currently in Serbia. He has been pictured over the last week watching a water polo match in his home country, as well as a basketball match in Slovenia.
A non-stop flight from Serbia to New York takes around 10 hours.
What are the current US entry rules?
Djokovic was given hope earlier this month that he might be able to play in the US Open when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) body, which is responsible for the health and safety of US residents, issued new guidance relaxing rules regarding social distancing and quarantine.
But nearly two weeks after that announcement the CDC has still not updated its travel advice, which currently states that all non-US citizens and nationals must be fully vaccinated before entering the country. Its website states that this is under review following the latest update.
There are no plans to grant Djokovic, or anyone, an exemption to the vaccination rules, with the United States Tennis Association saying it will adhere to the government stance on the matter.
What has Djokovic said?
Djokovic posted on Instagram on July 30 to say that he was "grateful” to have so many "messages of support" and was keeping his fingers crossed that he could play the US Open.
“I am preparing as if I will be allowed to compete, while I await to hear if there is any room for me to travel to US,” he wrote, along with a video of him training on a hard court.
Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition calling for Djokovic to be allowed to play the US Open.
What have other players said?
World No. 1 Medvedev, who beat Djokovic in last year’s US Open final to deny him a Calendar Slam, said he “would love” to see the 21-time Grand Slam champion back in New York.
"Yeah, for sure. [But] I cannot do anything. It is the government who sets the rules, so I do not know if it can actually change or not.
"If you ask me, if I would be the decision-maker, sure I want Novak to play. I like it when the tournament [has] the best players in the world.”
American veteran John Isner has called it “lunacy” that Djokovic can’t play while seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe says it’s a “joke”.
"I don't think it's fair. I think it's a joke.
"I would have had the vaccine and gone and played but he's got very strong beliefs and you have to respect that. At this point, in the pandemic, we're two-and-a-half years in, I think people in all parts of the world know more about it, and the idea that he can’t travel here to play, to me is a joke."
Why is Djokovic unvaccinated?
Djokovic said earlier this year that he did not want to get vaccinated as he “supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body”.
"The principles of decision-making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I'm trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can."
He also added that he was willing to miss major tournaments due to his stance.
Even though he admitted that he suffered mentally in the wake of the controversy over his deportation from Australia, he has not changed his mind. He was able to play the French Open and Wimbledon without being vaccinated and confirmed at SW19 that he is sticking to his beliefs.
Djokovic said: “I'm not vaccinated and I'm not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter United States or exemption.”
So far there has been no good news for Djokovic and the wait goes on, again.
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