Opinion – James Spencer (Twitter – @jspencer28)
Being on the sidelines and not through injury can’t be much fun if you’re Novak Djokovic watching all of the tennis unfold without you. But how much of this is his own doing and will he regret the repercussions?
The good news for Novak is that he is still world number one. But that could be for just a matter of days and that is where the good news ends there.
If Daniil Medvedev wins tonight at the Miami Open against Hubert Hukacz in the quarter-finals then he will return to the top of the rankings to which he sat for three weeks.
Because of the Serb’s decision to not be vaccinated against COVID-19 he has evidently paid the price.
In January, he was barred from playing at the Australian Open by Australian government officials.
This led to many locals and many abroad, resenting the 20-time Grand Slam champion for not making the same sacrifices that many worldwide have taken.
He then watched on as the ultimate irony occurred, as his closest rival overtook him, as Rafa Nadal won a 21st Grand Slam title in the most dramatic of styles after being two sets to love down against an in-form Medvedev.
Djokovic also lost a whopping 2,000 points, which allowed the Russian to reach the semi-finals at Acapulco, and after the Serb crashed out in the quarter-finals of Dubai to Jiri Vesley, he ceded the number one spot.
This month in March, he has missed two of his favourite events that he has had so much joy and success at in the past in Indian Wells and the Miami Masters.
Not being able to win the Sunshine Double would have hurt Novak, because on hard-court he is one of, if not the best in the world.
Considering Nadal was spent and physically tiring, which showed by dropping sets to Sebastian Korda, Nick Kyrgios, and then eventually losing in the final to Taylor Fritz and suffering a cracked rib, showed this trophy was up for grabs for Djokovic.
The surprise victory by Fritz only cements this view.
Then right now at the Miami Open, of course Medvedev is still going strong but other than that it is a very open field of who can win the second Masters 1000 of the year.
It also appears that Medvedev will knock Djokovic off top spot again.
All of this could have been avoided, including the drama in Australia, had he taken the COVID-19 Vaccine.
There will be further penalties as a result of this, as the Madrid Open, Italian Open, French Open and Wimbledon may require that players are double vaccinated, meaning Djokovic will again have to sit at home.
If Nadal wins the French or Medvedev ploughs ahead at the top of the rankings, it is but another own goal for the Serb.
Other prestigious American/Canadian venues such as the Cincinatti Masters and the Montreal Masters 1000 events, will also more than likely bar Djokovic.
And then there is the US Open.
So, whoever is advising the Serb, when will they experience the realisation, was this really worth it?
Only by the end of the 2022 season, when Djokovic has barely played, lost all rhythm and momentum from last year, will he maybe finally realise that only was not getting the vaccine perceived as selfish, but he has actually only damaged his own career and psyche by not taking it.
However, only he can determine this.
