On Wednesday, the Indian Wells Masters released the roster, with Djokovic's name among them. Previously, Djokovic has confirmed his participation in the ATP500 Dubai station, which will start on the 21st of this month.
The Dubai leg does not require vaccinations for players, while the Upcoming Indian Wells Masters, which will begin on March 10, requires players to be vaccinated before they are allowed to enter the United States.
Now that Djokovic is already on the Indian Wells Masters roster, does that mean he's been vaccinated?
The answer is not necessarily.
Publishing the list of participants is a step in the organization of the event and a means of promoting the event. Depending on the size of the signature and the ranking of the players, the tournament organizers will publish the entry list in advance after consulting the qualified players.
In order to attract fans to the event and sell more tickets, the event party will usually consult the top players in advance, or even pay the appearance fee to attract them to participate, and the sponsor will also be prepared in advance to endorse the players to attend commercial events during the game.
In this sense, the relationship between the players and the players is interdependent and mutually successful. Tournaments need top players to attract box office and expand influence, players need to compete to earn bonuses and points, and sponsors need to use games to expose their brands.
Therefore, the release of the list of participants is not only a routine procedure for running the competition, but also to create momentum and expand the influence of the competition. As can be seen from the dramatic events between Djokovic and the Australian Open last month, even if the roster is released and the draw is completed, the players may not be able to play.
Therefore, we cannot rewind the conclusion that Djokovic has been vaccinated based on the Indian Wells roster.
Djokovic has won the Indian Wells Masters five times, and his participation has a special significance for the event side. The tournament's organizers wrote in a statement: "Players must have a complete and valid vaccination certificate to enter the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to compete. Players must not only comply with the agreements established by the WTA and ATP, but also comply with the restrictive constraints of the United States on vaccination. ”
From this well-worded statement, we don't get the information we want. However, we can still see some clues from the specific actions of the event side. For example, the five-time champion Djokovic did not appear in this year's promotional poster, indicating that there is still great uncertainty about whether he will be able to participate.
Earlier, Djokovic biographer Muksch said in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Today, "Based on the information I got from his team, it seems that he has been vaccinated." Maybe what happened in Australia prompted him to make the decision, or maybe Nadal's victory in the Grand Slam spurred him to decide to get vaccinated. ”
As can be seen from the official promotional materials of Indian Wells, the event side did not get exact information that Djokovic had been vaccinated.
After the two North American "Sunshine Doubles" in Indian Wells and Miami, the tennis tour will come to Europe to start the clay season.
The Monte Carlo Masters will kick off on 10 April, with the registration deadline being 14 March. On Thursday, Monte Carlo tournament director Zeliko Flarovic said at a press conference, "If Djokovic meets the sanitary conditions required by the French government, we will be happy to receive him." As far as I know, he is not vaccinated. ”
Monte Carlo belongs to the Principality of Monaco and has the same entry conditions as France, and foreigners must be vaccinated before they can enter the country. In addition, Djokovic's settlement is in Monte Carlo, and he cannot even enter monte carlo without vaccination, let alone participate in the Monte Carlo Masters and the French Open.
As far as the current epidemic prevention policy is concerned, both the French Open and the US Open require players to be vaccinated before they can compete, and the policy of Wimbledon is still unclear. According to media reports, Djokovic said in a meeting with Serbian President Vucic last week that he would try his best to win the next three Grand Slams this year.
In this way, Djokovic will inevitably have to be vaccinated in the end. Since this is the case, it is better to fight late than to fight early. (Source: Tennis House Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu)