INDIAN WELLS, California. Novak Djokovic entered the BNP Paribas Open draw on Tuesday, although it is not known if he will be able to enter the United States.
The second player in the world has not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The United States requires visitors to be vaccinated to enter the country. In addition, tournament officials said anyone entering the venue should be fully vaccinated at Indian Wells.
Djokovic has won the tournament five times. He said goodbye in the first round and would face either David Goffin or Jordan Thompson in the second round.
The Serb last played in Dubai last month, losing in the quarterfinals to Jiri Vesely. He was expelled from Australia in January after his visa was revoked on the eve of the first major tournament of the year. Djokovic wanted to argue that having the virus is exempt from the rules governing full vaccination. He was detained at an immigration center before being ordered to leave.
Earlier on Tuesday, it was reported that Barbora Krejcikova withdrew from the tournament due to an elbow injury. World No. 2 said he was plagued by injury from the Qatar tournament almost two weeks ago. He reported that the pain worsened during the night, one day before the start of the tournament. The 26-year-old Czech is the defender of the French Open champion, which starts on May 22.
The tournament is already without world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, who announced her retirement last week. He wants to recover after the triumph in Melbourne in January.
France’s Alizé Cornet will replace Krejcikova in the main draw.
