Novak Djokovic handed French Open boost following vaccine passport change

Former world number one Novak Djokovic has seen his hopes of defending his French Open title boosted ahead of an imminent change to vaccine passport rules in the country.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner - who is unvaccinated against COVID-19 - recently insisted that he would be prepared to miss more major tournaments after his Australian Open deportation saga.

Djokovic's French Open hopes were therefore in serious doubt due to his stance, but Prime Minister Jean Castex has now announced that vaccine passports will not be a requirement to enter venues from 14 March onwards.

With the 2022 French Open set to begin on May 22, Djokovic could make his Grand Slam return on the clay court, as well as a possible Monte Carlo Masters appearance next month.

Djokovic took the 2021 French Open title after coming back from two sets down to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final - five years after triumphing over Andy Murray in the final of the 2016 edition.

However, the 34-year-old was knocked off top spot in the ATP rankings by Daniil Medvedev after crashing out to Jiri Vesely in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships last month.