Djokovic withdraws after failed bid to play Indian Wells Home favorite Jarry beats Etcheverry for Chile Open title Medvedev tops Rublev in Dubai final for third straight title

INDIAN WELLS, California. No. 1 Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the upcoming BNP Paribas Open after losing his application to enter the United States without vaccinations to play in the Southern California tournament.

The tournament announced its release on Sunday evening. Play in the ATP-WTA Combined Tournament will begin on Wednesday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and run through March 19.

Sen. Rick Scott, D-Fl., tweeted that the Department of Homeland Security denied Djokovic’s request for a vaccine waiver that would have allowed him to play back-to-back in Indian Wells and Miami, which will run from March 19 to April 2.

On May 11, the United States will end its COVID-19 emergency declaration, allowing foreign air travelers to enter the country without being vaccinated.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion lost on Friday in the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

With the departure of Djokovic, Nikoloz Basilashvili ended in a draw in Indian Wells.

SANTIAGO, Chile. Home crowd favorite Nicolás Jarry beat Argentina’s Thomas Martin Etcheverri 6:7 (5), 7:6 (5), 6:2 to reach the Chile Open final on Sunday. This is his first title at the elite level since 2019.

The 27-year-old Chilean served a doping ban in 2020 and his rankings have plummeted. His run to the clay court title in Chile came a week after Jarry reached the semi-finals of the Rio Open where he lost a tough match against Carlos Alcaraz and is predicted to return him to the top 60 in the ATP rankings. .

“It’s really incredible, it means a lot to me, especially doing it for two weeks in a row,” Jarry said. “Winning the second tie-break was very important emotionally.”

Jarri and Etcheverri have only met once before, in the first round in Córdoba last year, which the Argentine won in three sets.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates. Daniil Medvedev won his 18th tour title and third in a row by defeating Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-2 in the all-Russian final at the Dubai Championships on Saturday.

The former No. 1 extended his winning streak to 14 matches, starting on Valentine’s Day and including back-to-back trophies in Rotterdam and Doha.

Medvedev, in the second-longest winning streak of his career, beat Rublev twice in each set and won the last five games on hard court.

Rublev was the defending champion but quickly fell behind as he was unable to hold a serve in the first game.

“It’s surprising because the start of the year wasn’t perfect,” Medvedev said on the court after defeating his good friend. “So I had a lot of doubts, and now I just feel better.”

Medvedev inflicted the first defeat of the year on Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

The 2021 US Open champion defeated Andy Murray to win the Qatar Open last week after beating Yannick Sinner in the Rotterdam Open final.