"If I'm not allowed, I'm going to pull out before the draw" - Novak Djokovic on Indian Wells participation

Novak Djokovic opened up about his participation at the Indian Wells Masters later this month after beating Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday (March 2) to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships semifinals.

The top seed was clearly the better player against Marseille champion Hurkacz, taking the opening set 6-3. In a tight second set, Djokovic faced more resistance, but a break in the 11th game allowed him to serve out his 15th win in as many matches this year.

Having won the Adelaide 1 and Australian Open titles earlier in the season, the World No. 1 is now two wins away from winning his sixth Dubai title.

The Serb's participation at the year's first Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells and Miami, though, is shrouded in uncertainty because of his COVID-19 vaccination stance. The US has relaxed rules for unvaccinated foreigners entering the country, but the rule only comes into force on April 10, while Indian Wells starts on March 8.

That means Djokovic, without a vaccine, cannot enter the country to participate in the tournament. The Serb said in his post-match press conference that he will wait till the last minute for any rule change or relaxation to facilitate his participation, else he'll withdraw:

"Before the draw. Yeah, yeah, whatever the decision is before the draw, if I'm not allowed, I'm going to pull out, of course, before the draw."

Sounding pleased about his performance against Hurkacz, the Serb said:

"Overall very pleased with the under-pressure moments and how I'm feeling each single day. I'm feeling better and better striking the ball and also physically on the court."

Djokovic takes on Daniil Medvedev in a blockbuster Dubai semifinal clash on Friday (March 3).

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"Daniil Medvedev is one of the best players in the world" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic

Much like Novak Djokovic, Medvedev has been on a roll too. By beating Borna Coric in the quarterfinals, the Russian brought up his 11th win on the trot, having won titles in Rotterdam and Doha.

Acknowledging the difficulty of the challenge awaiting him, Djokovic said:

"Daniil is one of the best players in the world the last five years. Grand Slam winner. Former No. 1 in the world. Not much to talk about. His quality is as tough as it gets when you are supposed to face someone on the hard court particularly."

About his rivalry with Medvedev, the reigning World No. 1 continued:

"We played each other quite a few times. ... I've been watching him play. He's on a roll, winning tournaments, one or more tournaments before Dubai, I'm not sure. But he's had a great run. I haven't had a bad run myself, so I think we're both in great form and hopefully can have a good match."

Novak Djokovic has a 9-4 H2H lead over Medvedev, winning the last four meetings.