Eighteen of the world’s top-ranked tennis players will descend on Sydney in January for the ATP Cup, including Novak Djokovic.
At today’s launch, it was revealed that Djokovic had committed to the Australian Open warm-up event, however Tennis Australia is yet to confirm whether the world No.1 will compete in the grand slam.
Djokovic’s hopes of defending his Australian Open title remain under a cloud of uncertainty with the Serbian repeatedly refusing to reveal his vaccine status, notwithstanding the mandate being enforced for the Melbourne-based tournament.
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Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge was thrilled by the news, telling 2GB’s Wide World of Sports radio that Djokovic’s attendance was a sure sign that he would contest the Australian Open.
“He had the choice to enter or not enter so he’s put his name on the entry list and that means you’ve got to believe that he’s coming all the way through the summer,” Woodbridge said.
“That’s good for tennis, for Novak fans they’ll be rejoicing, and I think also for the Sydney fans.
“He knows all the government regulations about the vaccination, so that means, you would think, that he’s on top of it unless he pulls something that we’re not expecting.”
https://omny.fm/shows/wide-world-of-sports/tennis-champion-todd-woodbridge-hails-novak-djokov/embed
Sixteen countries with up to five representing players will take part in the third edition of the ATP Cup, with four groups announced at today’s launch. The winner of each group will qualify for the semifinals.
Top players Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev were listed to headline their respective countries.
Australia has qualified via a host wildcard with Alex De Minaur once again set to lead the team. James Duckworth, Max Purcell, John Peers and Luke Saville round of the rest of the Aussie side.
Matches will be played in Sydney Olympic Park, across Qudos Bank Arena and the Ken Rosewall Centre from New Year’s Day.
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