Tennis
Khachanov ‘respects’ Djokovic’s decision
(Dubai) Russian Karen Khachanov, Novak Djokovic’s next opponent in 2and round of the Dubai tournament, assured Tuesday “to respect” the position of the world N.1 concerning the vaccine against COVID-19.
The day before, the Scotsman Andy Murray, also engaged in Dubai, had declared that things would be “much easier” for Djokovic “if he got vaccinated”, but that he did not think that “it would be good for tennis that our best player cannot participate in major tournaments”.
“I agree with Andy. It’s a very delicate situation where it’s essentially his decision, he has to stick to it and I respect that a lot, ”said Khachanov in turn after his qualification against Alex De Minaur on Tuesday to AFP, adding however that it would be nice if Djokovic could “play a normal season and go everywhere”.
On Monday, the Serb beat at 1er turn the young Italian Lorenzo Musetti (58and) 6-3, 6-3 for his first match since his eventful departure from Australia where he could not play the Australian Open, because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19.
He was expelled from the country on January 16 after a long standoff with local authorities. His participation in Dubai does not pose a problem, as no vaccine is compulsory to return to the Emirates.
Karen Khachanov, 26and World Cup, who won 6-3, 6-7 (1/7), 7-5 on Tuesday, now expects to face a “Djoko” who, he observed, “played really well for his start to the season. “But I will be there, I will try to fight,” he promised.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic said the players made him feel welcome in the Dubai dressing room this week.
“It’s great to see him here, he had a great game,” said Pole Hubert Hurkacz, who “wishes him the best”.
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Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.