Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal included on Indian Wells entry list

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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have been named on the entry list for next month’s BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells but are still unlikely to compete at the prestigious tournament, according to reports. The pair were both injured during this year’s Australian Open, which Djokovic won, although it seems as though they may be ready to return before the action gets back underway in California ahead of the French Open in May.

Djokovic’s vaccination status is also a concern ahead of Indian Wells as a result of the entry requirements in place for the United States after missing last year’s edition of the tournament as a result of his refusal to be jabbed against COVID-19. However, the Serb and Nadal have both been included on the provisional entry list in spite of their respective issues that could ultimately see them forced to withdraw from the competition.

The US is set to end its COVID emergency declarations long after the tournament concludes in May, which suggests that Djokovic will remain unable to play at Indian Wells for at least another year. Nadal, meanwhile, is widely expected to sit out of Indian Wells as he looks to maximise his recovery from injury before attempting to defend his French Open title at Roland Garros later this year.

Not everybody in the US appears to be happy with Djokovic’s ban from competing at Indian Wells, with tournament boss Tommy Haas branding it a ‘disgrace’ when quizzed on the matter last month.

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“Obviously the one problem being that he still cannot come to the US If he doesn’t play Indian Wells and Miami in March, it will be tough, they’re supposed to lift those mandates by mid-April,” said Haas.

“It would be nice to see if we could maybe lift those a little earlier and have him come to play Indian Wells and Miami. I think he wants to play, so we should give him the chance. Hopefully we can have him there. I mean, it would be a disgrace in my eyes if he wasn’t coming to these events, or not allowed to come.”

Nadal is also likely to miss Indian Wells after suffering a hip strain in the second round of the Australian Open on his way to losing at the hands of MacKenzie McDonald last month. He recently offered an update via Twitter to confirm that he had been undergoing medical tests in Barcelona, with further examinations to follow over the coming weeks.

“Today I have been at the Tecknon Tennis Clinic in Barcelona where they have carried out some tests on me,” wrote the Spaniard. “The Melbourne results are confirmed and the deadlines remain the same. Established the treatments to follow and in three weeks they will perform new tests to see the evolution.”

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