Djokovic in Indian Wells after 5 years: They banned him from playing, now he greeted them with big smile

Photo: Instagram / Printscreen / Indian Wells

The best Serbian tennis player, Novak Djokovic, after five long years, will once again be a part of the Indian Wells tournament. The Covid pandemic, and then the numerous bans imposed by the United States, caused our ace to miss half a decade of playing at this Masters.

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Several times already Djokovic has stated that Indian Wells is one of his favorite tournaments, but as is well known, the rules were such that persons unvaccinated against Covid were not allowed to enter the US for a number of years. Before the start of the 2020 tournament, Novak got "evacuated" at the last moment.

This tournament will start on March 6, so it can be said that Djokovic arrived a little early, but it's all in order to prepare and acclimatize to the conditions there.

Through Indian Wells' official social media accounts, he decided to send a clear message to all the fans and welcome them with a big smile, even though he has not allowed to compete in this tournament for five years.

"We are in 2024, last time I played in Indian Wells 2019. It's been five years, way too long to not be part of the tennis paradise tournament, one of the best tournaments in the world without a doubt, probably the favorite Masters tournament of so many players, including myself. I can't wait to come and perform once again in front of some of the best tennis fans that we have on the tour," said Novak Djokovic.

 

 

 

 

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By the way, Novak has won the most trophies at Indian Wells together with Roger Federer (five each), so Djokovic is even more motivated to succeed this season.

"I go back to 2008, the first time I won the title in Indian Wells, it was one of the greatest titles of my career at that point. I was fortunate to win the tournament another four times, to play some epic matches in the finals, against Federer, Nadal and many other great tennis players of that era. I'm really looking forward to come back and let's have a great tournament together," said Novak.

(Telegraf.rs)