Novak Djokovic on his US Open participation: 'Not planning to get vaccinated but would love to go there'

Novak Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios in the men's singles final on Sunday to clinch his fourth straight Wimbledon title. The Serbian ace extended his dominance at the All England Club with his seventh Wimbledon singles title equalling American great Pete Sampras' record. He is now just one short of equalling the legendary Roger Federer's record of most Wimbledon triumphs (8).

The Wimbledon 2022 title is Djokovic's first Grand Slam of the year as he has now closed the gap on Rafael Nadal on the list of most Grand Slam singles titles won by male players. He is now just one short of matching Nadal's feat of 22 Grand Slams but his participation at the upcoming US Open 2022 remains in doubt.

Djokovic, who has maintained a strict stance against getting COVID-19 vaccine, has reasserted that he will not get vaccinated anytime soon. The Serbian ace, who is regarded as one of the best players in the world, said he is not vaccinated and doesn't plan to take the vaccine but would love to take part in the US Open this year.

"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," Djokovic said.

"I'll wait hopefully for some good news from USA because I would really love to go there. If that doesn't happen, then I have to see what the schedule will look like," he added.

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Djokovic has not had the best of seasons so far this year as he had to face immense trouble in Australia earlier this year over his anti-COVID-19 vaccine stance. The Serb was not allowed to take part in the Australian Open and was denied a chance to defend his title. He was also involved in a legal battle against the Australian authorities before getting deported from the country for not getting vaccinated.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic beats Nick Kyrgios to win 4th straight Wimbledon title, clinches 21st Grand Slam crown

Opening up on the events in Australia earlier this year, Djokovic said he was not in a great place mentally and emotionally but the win at Wimbledon has come at an important time for him in the season.

"Certainly this year has not been the same like last years. In the first several months of the year, I was not feeling great generally. Mentally, emotionally, I was not at a good place," Djokovic said as he opened up on the events in Australia.

"Once I left Australia... (it) caused turbulence inside of me. I just needed time to weather the storm. Wimbledon historically has always come at such important stages of my life and my career. In 2018 when I was starting the year with elbow surgery... this was the first slam that I won and (it) served as a springboard for (winning the next two majors at) the U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open. I'm always inspired to play my best tennis in London," he explained.