Djokovic will avoid Indian Wells mistake that almost saw him suspended

Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he won’t repeat last year’s mistake while waiting to learn whether he can play in Indian Wells. The world No 1 has applied for a “special permit” to enter the country and compete in this month’s two Masters events while unvaccinated travellers are still banned from entering the US but is yet to hear back with the tournament starting next week. And after avoiding a suspension from a different event as punishment for a late withdrawal last year, he said he would withdraw before the draw was made if he didn’t receive an answer.

Djokovic is still waiting to find out if he can compete in Indian Wells and the Miami Open this month with just six days until first round play begins. Unvaccinated travellers are currently banned from entering America but the Serb’s brother Djordje revealed the world No 1 had applied for a permit to travel and compete – something Djokovic confirmed in a press conference last week.

But the 22-time Grand Slam champion confirmed on Thursday that he still hadn’t received a response with less than a week until the tournament begins. “We’ll see. Let’s see what the answer is, then I’ll take it from there. I’ll focus right now on the tournament here in Dubai, then we’ll see what’s next,” the 35-year-old told reporters in Dubai when asked how the late answer would affect his scheduling.

The five-time champion in Indian Wells was also asked whether he would leave it until the last minute to pull out in case he hears from the US government, or whether he would withdraw before the draw was made. “Exactly, before the draw,” he responded.

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“Yeah, yeah, whatever the decision is before the draw, if I’m not allowed, I’m going to pull out, of course, before the draw.” It comes after Djokovic was punished for his late withdrawal from Indian Wells last year, when he was also hoping to be granted permission to enter the country and compete.

The world No 1 withdrew after the draw had been made but before the first day’s order of play was released, leaving the bottom half of the Indian Wells draw imbalanced as Grigor Dimitrov filled his position as the 33rd seed while Joao Sousa entered the main draw as a lucky loser. It led to the ATP Tour sending out an email confirming the penalty for pulling out of the main draw of a Masters 1000 event.

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“Any player who withdraws from the Main Draw of an ATP Tour Masters 1000 event shall have a ranking penalty assessed and be suspended from a subsequent ATP Tour Masters 1000 event. This event shall be the event where the player earned the highest point total during the previous 12 months,” it read. And as Djokovic had won the 2021 Paris Masters, this was the tournament he was set to be suspended from before successfully appealing.

But the 93-time title winner will be wanting to avoid repeating the same mistake again this year – especially because he has already appealed a punishment once and would likely be unsuccessful if he found himself in the same situation for a second time. Beyond Indian Wells and Miami, Djokovic has committed to playing the Monte Carlo Masters and ATP 250 in Banja Luka.

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