World No.1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ATP Cup, but whether he’ll compete in January’s Australian Open remains a mystery.
Djokovic’s withdrawal from the men’s teams event in Sydney comes amid an anti-vaccination stand-off, with the Serbian superstar refusing to reveal his status amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tennis Australia and the Victorian government are unmoving in their stance that every player who competes in the Australian Open must be double vaccinated.
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Djokovic has stated on multiple occasions that his vaccination status is a “personal” matter.
Earlier this month, Djokovic’s father gave the most telling hint yet that the 20-time singles major champion hadn’t been vaccinated.
“They have to decide whether they will let Novak in,” Srdjan Djokovic said on Serbian TV.
“If they decide (not to let him in) they have to stand behind their decision.
“He has won the Australian Open nine times, he now wants to play, but they have to permit him to play.
“Novak will do what he thinks is the best for him; nobody will impose an opinion on him.”
Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge slammed whispers earlier this month of Tennis Australia attempting to find a loophole to get Djokovic in.
“There has been some people saying Tennis Australia is looking for loopholes to get him in,” Woodbridge told Nine’s TODAY.
“That’s absolute rubbish, that cannot happen, it’s the government that makes those rules and they’ll stipulate whether he can get in or not.”
Djokovic is equal with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on a record 20 singles grand slam wins.
Tennis Australia said in a statement that the top-ranked Serbian team would be led by world No.33 Dusan Lajovic.
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