Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas says he is «very disappointed» that Novak Djokovic missed the first Masters tournament of the season in the desert. Following the Australian Open, Djokovic applied for special permission to enter the United States as an unvaccinated foreigner.
Last Friday, Djokovic was told that his application was denied. Djokovic then withdrew from Indian Wells. «Very disappointing, I think the United States is the only country that still has these restrictions. We should just let it slide and let it play.»
I don’t see any reason and I am also very disappointed that he is not here,» Haas told Augburger-Allgemeine.
Haas finds Djokovic’s absence from Indian Wells ‘sad’
«Very disappointing, I think the US is the only country that still has these restrictions…»
«We should let him go and let him play.I see no reason and I am also very disappointed that he is not here. — C Kristjánsdóttir ◠🠊 (@CristinaNcl) March 9, 2023
Haas pushed for Djokovic to play in Indian Wells
During the Australian Open, Haas was asked about the possibility of Djokovic missing the tournament for the second year in a row just because of his vaccination status.
Haas was bluntly honest in his response when he said that «it would be a shame» if Djokovic was again denied entry to the United States for Indian Wells. «Obviously, the only problem is that he still can’t come to the US. If he doesn’t play in Indian Wells and Miami in March (it’s going to be tough), they’re supposed to lift those mandates in mid-April.
It would be nice to see if we could maybe lift that up a little earlier and have him come play in Indian Wells and Miami. I think he wants to play, so we should give him the chance. Hopefully, we can have it there. I mean, it would be a shame in my eyes if he didn’t attend these events, or if he wasn’t allowed to attend,» Haas said in January.
Djokovic is still on the Miami Masters participant list. The Miami Masters starts in less than two weeks and Djokovic is hopeful that at some point in the meantime he will change what will allow him to play there.
