US Open accused of ‘cheating’ Novak Djokovic as Serb eyes fourth title

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A top Serbian sports star has taken a swipe at the US Open, accusing the American Grand Slam competition of ‘cheating’ to prevent Novak Djokovic from winning more titles in New York. Having triumphed three times at Flushing Meadows, the 23-times Grand Slam champion is no stranger to success on the hard courts of the Big Apple, but his most recent success was back in 2018 when he beat Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets.

Since then he has been beaten by Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, disqualified for accidentally hitting a line official with a ball that was not in play a year later and lost to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 final.

Djokovic did not participate in the 2022 event as a result of the US federal government’s Covid-19 vaccination policy for non-US citizens. The Serb is one of the most high-profile sportspersons to have refused to have a Covid-19 vaccination, which effectively scuppered his prospects of appearing in the Grand Slam tournament last year.

With Covid-19 rules not relaxed in the US, the 36-year-old recently returned to the States, winning the Cincinnati Open in a thrilling final against world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

The win was Djokovic’s 39th ATP Masters 1000 title and his 1,069th ATP Tour victory, surpassing the victory counts of Ivan Lendl and Nadal. He also became the oldest player to win the Cincinnati Open, eclipsing 35-year-old Ken Rosewall’s record.

Djokovic’s achievements were highlighted on social media by the US Open’s official Twitter account. They tweeted: “No one currently playing has won more than Novak Djokovic.”

But Serbia’s most popular basketball player, Danilo Andusic, took the opportunity to fire a broadside at the final Grand Slam of the year, accusing them of denying his countryman more victories.

In a retweet, Andusic wrote: “He would win even more if you didn’t cheat.”

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The Serb’s strongly worded post is believed to be in reference to Djokovic’s omission from the 2022 event as a result of his vaccination status.

Djokovic will return to the top of the world rankings should he fare better than Alacaraz at the US Open. A fourth US Open title would put the all-time great on 24 Grand Slams, one ahead of Serena Williams in the women’s game, further strengthening the argument that he is the greatest tennis player of modern times.

He has reached nine US Open finals across his career, winning three of them. His first success arrived in 2011 when he defeated Nadal in a rematch of the previous year’s final. In 2015 he beat Roger Federer to win his 10th major title. By reaching the final the Serbian became the third man to reach the final of every Grand Slam in the same calendar year during the Open era.

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