Novak Djokovic will not play the ATP Cup in Sydney and his presence at the Australian Open is in jeopardy

Djokovic’s presence is not confirmed for the first Grand Slam of the year. Photo: REUTERS / Loren Elliott / File Photo

Serbian Novak Djokovic, number one in men’s tennis who never confirmed if he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus, will not play the ATP Cup in Sydney that will be played between January 1 and 9, and his presence in the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year to be held in Melbourne between January 17 and 30.

“Novak will not go to the ATP Cup 99%. He is training here in Belgrade but decided to skip that tournament ”, published in the last hours the Serbian newspaper Flash.

Nole, 34 years old and nine times champion in Australia (the last three in a row), aimed at Melbourne to break the record of 20 Grand Slam titles that he shares with the Spanish Rafael Nadal, who did not specify if he will play the tournament, and the Swiss Roger Federer, inactive due to injury until mid-2022.

In the event that the singlist decide to play in Melbourne Park, you should confirm if you are vaccinated, since the organization of the contest requires that the tennis players, their environment and other team members are, or otherwise they must present a medical exemption that justifies it.

According to the newspaper Flash, Djokovic “will announce at the end of the year whether or not he will go to Australia”, in a decision that will affect his future since it is his favorite Grand Slam and he could win it and exclusively seize the record with 21 greats leaving behind Rafa and Roger.

It should be remembered that Novak’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, described the mandatory vaccination for the Australian Open as “blackmail” and questioned his son’s participation. Of course, he would like to go, because he is an athlete and because there are many compatriots there, the diaspora, who would be happy to see Novak ”, had declared in the past the father of Nole, to the Belgrade television station The first TV. “But I don’t know if that will happen, probably not under those conditions, under those blackmail he won’t play,” were his words.

The head of the organization, Craig Tiley, had said that the Serbian “must be vaccinated to play.” And Srdjan Djokovic defended his son’s “exclusive and personal right” to be vaccinated or not, stating that he himself does not know if he has. He also criticized the conditions of a possible participation in the tournament, with a quarantine in a hotel room for two weeks, as happened this year: “Excellent idea, I congratulate you, but let them play themselves,” he concluded.

Djokovic, who in Melbourne would seek his 21st Grand Slam record, tested positive in June 2020, during a solidarity tournament he organized in the Balkans. Two months earlier he had been against mandatory vaccination.

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