–

ADELAIDE, Australia – Novak Djokovic is into the quarterfinals in Adelaide, after a tough, grinding win over a game opponent in France’s Quentin Halys Thursday.

Once again, the stadium was nearly full, with about 4,000 tickets told for a day session with a capacity of 4,500.

It wasn’t the same frenzy that greeted Djokovic’s first match, when fans were lined up down the block before the gates opened to ensure a good seat.

But it was a great atmosphere. Serbian flags were everywhere, and Djokovic needed all of the support and a little champions’ magic at the end to avoid a complicated third set.

He faces Canadian Denis Shapovalov in a late match Friday (not before 8:30 p.m. in Adelaide, 5 a.m. ET).

“Denis is probably one of the most complete players out there, has a very dynamic style of tennis, big serve, comes to the net, comfortable playing from the back of the court, moves fantastic,” Djokovic said of Shapovalov during his on-court interview.

Will No. 8 be the charm for Denis Shapovalov vs Novak Djokovic?

A little team soccer after the match

After the match, Djokovic cooled down with a little game of soccer with his team, as a large group of his fans watched up on the bridge.

He seemed in tremendous spirits.

But later, when he came to press, his mood was a little more somber.

Part of that might well have been the news that the US government has extended the entry ban for unvaccinated non-residents until April – well after the big tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami are over.

It’s like Groundhog day, exactly a year after the entire “Park Hotel” saga in Melbourne that led to the Serb’s deportation from the country just before the start of the 2022 Australian Open.

Djokovic at first said he would have more to say when it was “official”. But the extension of the ban is official, in a document released by the government on Jan. 3.

The wild card, of course, this extension may well be no more than a pro-forma, procedural extension, in the absence of any rescinding of the regulation by the government.

In the meantime, the US government has added mandatory departure tests for a handful of countries including China and Macau, because of events in that part of the world. So it’s hard to know if the climate is ripe for that to happen in the next few months – even if the U.S. remains among the rare countries to still require now-outdated vaccinations for entry.

It may well leave Djokovic in the position he’s been in numerous times before – having to plan as if he will be playing those events, while not knowing until the very last minute if he can. Or even if he will at all.

Here’s what he had to say about that.