Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he will participate in the last Masters 1000 of the season in Paris Bercy and then in the final in Turin. The Serbian champion is on the hunt for the last possible titles of the season, aiming to overtake Rafael Nadal in the number of total ATP titles.
However, one of the h*ttest topics heading into 2023 is whether the former world number one will be able to participate in the upcoming Australian Open due to his unvaccinated status. “As far as Australia is concerned, there are some positive signs, but not official ones.
We are communicating through my lawyers in Australia, in fact, they are communicating with the authorities dealing with my case,” Djokovic said in an interview collected by the Serbian media outlet Sportal. “I hope to have an answer in the next few weeks, whatever it is, but I hope it is positive to have enough time to prepare for the next season, which I hope will start in Australia.
The Slam that takes place in Melbourne is one of the favorite tournaments of the Belgrade, 35 years old, to the point that he has won this Major nine times. “I’m looking forward to going there, I’m over what happened this year and I just want to play tennis, it’s what I do best.
Australia has always been the place where I’ve played my best tennis, the results speak for themselves, so I am always very motivated to go there. This time even more” Returning to the issue of vaccination, the Serb hopes that soon things will return to the way they were before and that it is no longer mandatory to be vaccinated to play tournaments.
Wertheim talks about Djokovic
Jon Wertheim further stated that based on his instincts, Novak Djokovic was going to play the Australian Open since the restrictions were lifted. “I think anything we can do to avoid a repeat of what happened in January, which benefitted no one, is advisable.
Honestly, I mean, I don’t know where he is getting his information from, but if, in fact, this is true that he can get an answer in the next few weeks, one way or the other, that’s a positive,” Wertheim said.
“My instinct is that he is not going to miss this event and he’ll need some sort of special exemption, but Australia’s COVID rates are much different than they were in January, when this was such an issue. And again, if we can get an answer in advance and avoid the sort of circus we had in January, we all win,” he added.
