Following the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic from the US Open, while reacting to the news the 22-time Grand Slam singles champion Rafael Nadal opined that "sport in some ways is bigger than any player". 

Djokovic, a 21-time major singles champion, withdrew from the hard-court championship on August 25 hours before the draw was made because he refused to receive the Covid-19 vaccination.

Travellers are currently required to present immunisation documentation in order to board aircraft bound for the United States. Djokovic will miss a major event for the second time in a year; he was already expelled from Australia after a 10-day judicial struggle to participate in the Australian Open in 2022.

In the US Open final of 2021, the Serbian was defeated by Daniil Medvedev of Russia in straight sets.

"From my personal perspective, (it) is a very sad news," Nadal was quoted as saying. "It's always a shame when the best players of the world are not able to play a tournament because of injuries or because of different reasons. In this case, not having one of the best players of the history in the draw of Grand Slam is always an important miss, no?”

"As I said, tough for the fans, tough for the tournament. In my opinion, tough for the players, too, because we want to have the best field possible. But in the other hand, I repeat what I said plenty of times: the sport in some ways is bigger than any player."

Nadal, who had to retire from tennis due to an abdominal ailment before the Wimbledon semifinal, made a comeback at the Cincinnati Masters. The eventual winner Borna Coric defeated the Spaniard in the Round of 32, though. On Wednesday, August 31, Nadal will face Australian Rinky Hijikata in the opening round of the US Open.

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