NOVAK DJOKOVIC BREAKS SILENCE AFTER LOSING NO 1 TO CARLOS ALCARAZ DUE TO US BAN

has spoken out for the first time since pulling out of the Miami Open and losing his No 1 ranking. The Serb was forced to miss Indian Wells and Miami when US Homeland Security denied his vaccine waiver request to enter the country. But Djokovic says he has "no regrets" over not getting jabbed and congratulated for surpassing him.

Djokovic has found himself unable to compete in America for more than a year, with the vaccine still an entry requirement for foreign nationals. The world No 2 attempted to bypass this for the Indian Wells and Miami Masters by applying for a special permit but had his request denied.

In his absence, Alcaraz was able to leapfrog the Serb in the rankings and returned to No 1 in the world on Monday thanks to his title win in Indian Wells. And Djokovic has now broken his silence on his US ban and subsequent rankings drop for the first time.

"No, I have no regrets," the 22-time Grand Slam champion told CNN's Becky Anderson. "I've learned through life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past and I don't want to do that."

The 35-year-old also said Alcaraz "deserved" to be the top-ranked man in tennis, sending his well-wishes to the teenage star. He continued: "I also don't want to live too much in the future. I want to be as much as in the present moment, but of course think about future, create a better future.

"So I congratulate Alcaraz. He absolutely deserves to come back to No 1." While Djokovic said he didn't regret his decision not to get vaccinated, he did admit it was a shame not to compete during the sunshine swing.

"It's a pity that I wasn't able to play in Indian Wells, Miami. I love those tournaments," Djokovic added before doubling-down on his choice not to get jabbed.

Sharing his wish to see the restrictions change in time for the US Open, he said: "I had plenty of success there, but at the same time, it is the conscious decision I made and I knew that there is always a possibility that I won't go, and it is the current state or current situation that I hope will change for later this year for the US Open."

2023-03-21T13:55:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd