Novak Djokovic will be welcome at Madrid Open, but the tournament does not have the power to decide who can play: Feliciano Lopez

In a recent interview with Marca, Feliciano Lopez stated that Novak Djokovic "will be welcome" to play at the Mutua Madrid Open 2022. Lopez, the tournament director of the Masters event, hopes COVID-19 to decline by the month of May so that the restrictions can ease up, allowing the Serb to enter the tournament without any difficulty.

Novak Djokovic recently kicked off his 2022 tennis campaign at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2022, where he was allowed to play despite being unvaccinated. However, the Serb might face trouble playing in many countries, which have strict norms regarding vaccination, just like he faced in Australia last month.

In an earlier interview with BBC, the 20-time Grand Slam champion announced that he would not be taking the vaccine against the coronavirus even if it comes at the cost of skipping Grand Slams and other ATP tournaments.

Asked about Djokovic's entry at the Mutua Madrid Open, Feliciano Lopez highlighted that tournaments "don't have the power to decide" who can and can't play. He asserted that it is the laws of a particular nation that determine whether an athlete can enter the country or not.

Lopez further mentioned that he can only hope the COVID-19 pandemic to get over by the time the Masters tournament begins so that anyone "can enter the nation" freely. He believes that under such a scenario, Djokovic will be able to play without any problems.

"In the end, we as a tournament do not have the power to decide who can go and who cannot [play]... People do not enter the countries because of what the tennis tournaments say but because of the laws that exist at that time, which are not imposed by a tournament or a federation," said Lopez.

"I hope that in the month of May Spain will be as it is now, that the Covid continues to decline, that my country is fine, that people stop dying, that everything goes better, and that the restrictions are minimal or there are none. And that everyone can enter freely and that is what we want and what we expect. In that case, Novak will be welcome [at the Madrid Open] like all players," added the Spaniard.

As of now, Djokovic has been given the green light to play at the Italian Open but the rules could change by the time the tournament comes around.

Novak Djokovic has won the Mutua Madrid Open thrice

Novak Djokovic with the Mutua Madrid Open 2019 title

Djokovic has won the Mutua Madrid Open thrice in his career so far, making him the second-most successful player in the history of the Masters event. Only Rafael Nadal has won the tournament on more (five) occasions than him to date.

Djokovic first won the tournament in 2011 after defeating Nadal in the finals. However, he failed to defend his title the following year, the only time the tournament took place on blue clay.

Novak Djokovic's other two victorious stints at the tournament came in 2016 and 2019.