Novak Djokovic won his fourth straight title at Wimbledon, but he is set to skip the US open over vaccination requirement. Tennis great John McEnroe slammed US politicians for denying an exception for Djokovic.
Djokovic wins 4th straight Wimbledon title
Novak Djokovic has been crowned Wimbledon champion for the fourth consecutive time after beating Nick Kyrgios. He became only the fourth man in history to win four consecutive Wimbledon titles, joining Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer.
It took Djokovic a bit of time to get his rhythm, losing the first set 4-6 with a faultless start by Kyrgios. From there, however, Djokovic began to recapture the mental edge that had evaded him this year, and he dominated the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4. Kyrgios fought back in the fourth set, but Djokovic would eventually prevail 7-6 (3) to take the match and his 4th consecutive Wimbledon title.
Djokovic now has won a total of seven singles titles, equaling the count of Pete Sampras. He's now second on the men's all-time list behind Roger Federer, who has eight titles, The Guardian reported.
Wimbledon is Djokovic's second most successful grand slam. Djokovic moves into first place with a total of 21 grand slam tournament wins, bumping Roger Federer down to second with 20.
Djokovic to skip US open, "not planning to get vaccinated"
Immediately after Djokovic's fourth straight title at Wimbledon, he was asked about his vaccination status. Reporters wanted to know whether he would be playing in the US open, given America's policy of barring entry to the country unless vaccinated.
"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 Sunday, ESPN reported. "I don't know. I don't think exemption is realistically possible. If that is possibility, I don't know what exemption would be about. I don't know. I don't have much answers there."
McEnroe slams US blocking Djokovic's entry over vaccination status: "Ridiculous"
Tennis legend John McEnroe blasted US authorities for denying entry to tennis star Novak Djokovic due to his vaccination status.
"These politicians are getting in the way too much," McEnroe said, according to the New York Post. "They did it in Australia. Let’s let the guy come in and play in the U.S. I mean, come on. This is ridiculous."