Novak Djokovic is currently set to miss the US Open because he isn’t vaccinated. But one fan on Reddit has spotted a loophole that can get the Serbian star into the country.
It turns out the vaccine rule only applies to travellers arriving in the US by air or land and ferry crossings from Canada and Mexico.
So here’s the ingenious idea:
The rule says nothing about ferry crossings between Florida and the Bahamas. To get in the Bahamas all you need is a negative test, no vaccine required. So there you go Novak, just get to Nassau, then take the puddle jumper to Bimini and then zoom right into Fort Lauderdale on the Resorts World International ferry “Balearia” for the short 50 mile crossing to Miami. Problem solved!
Imagine the drama if he did it…
So it’s farewell to Sue Barker – the beloved Wimbledon presenter is retiring after 30 years.
The BBC broadcast a lovely tribute after Sunday’s final, but there was no mention of the time comedian Frank Skinner joined Sue on a Question of Sport, which she hosted.
It was the picture round, and an image appeared of a sportsperson looking out to sea from the edge of a cliff.
Frank turned to Barker, who famously dated pop oddball Cliff Richard, and asked deadpan, “Sue, have you ever sat on a Cliff face?”
She couldn’t contain her laughter, but sadly it didn’t make the edit.
As Wimbledon approaches, it’s great to see Nick Kyrgios hitting a rich vein of form. By which we mean losing his mind over some minor disagreement with the umpire.
After smashing his racquet in his defeat to Andy Murray last week (see clip above), Kyrgios teetered on the brink of a meltdown again during a clash with world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas.
He broke another racquet in anger and had a hissy fit with the officials after they penalised him for time wasting.
But for once he held it together long enough to win the quarter-final match, and pulled out some delicious shots in the process, like this wristy number.
Kyrgios is damn good on grass – looking forward to seeing his box of tricks en route to the inevitable meltdown and exit in the fourth round.
At this point you’re probably wondering why Djokovic doesn’t just get the sodding vaccine.
A reminder then, of all the voodoo shit he’s into:
- Djoko says his career was “defined” by the day a doctor (presumably a witch doctor) pressed a slice of white bread into his stomach to diagnose him as gluten intolerant.
- Believes in telepathy and telekinesis (the ability to move physical matter with your brain).
- Opposes surgery and cried for three days in 2018 because he had “failed himself” by having elbow surgery instead of healing himself with natural medicine. He split with coach Andre Agassi over the issue.
- Once promoted the idea that positive thoughts could purify dirty water and make it drinkable.
And let’s not forget the fact he sets a place at the dinner table for his dog…
As Novak Djokovic enjoys the kind of warm welcome Australia usually reserves for asylum seekers, his famously level-headed father is offering up the usual gibberish to the media.
Last time we heard from Srdjan Djokovic, he attacked fans who caught Covid at his son’s Adria Tour event, accusing them of trying to sabotage the tournament, his family and all of Serbia.
He was at it again yesterday, providing our quote of the week and making this slightly confusing speech:
Jesus was crucified and everything was done to him, and he endured, he is still alive among us.
They are trying to crucify Novak in the same way, to underestimate him, to bring him to his knees, to do everything to him.
My late grandmother Sara Jaukovic from Savnik always said ‘shame on you, girl, when you don’t have a face’.
Well, I’m telling them now, shame on you when you don’t have a cheek. To do that to the best athlete, tennis player in the world.
He also claimed it was an attack on Serbia, before his wife chipped in to suggest a different motive: “This is a clear political attack on Novak Djokovic so that he doesn’t win and doesn’t become the greatest of all time.”
Yep, it’s definitely that.
It’s been ten days since anyone saw Peng Shuai, the Wimbledon doubles champion who accused a senior Chinese politician of sexual abuse.
We feared the worst until Wednesday, when Chinese state media published an email which it claimed was from the tennis star.
Opening with “Hello everyone this is Peng Shuai”, the email retracts all the abuse allegations, which it says are “untrue”. Finally, it reassures readers: “I’m not missing, nor am I unsafe. I’ve just been resting at home and everything is fine.”
Panic over!
