Aus Open intrigue as Djokovic signs on for Sydney event

World No.1 Novak Djokovic has committed to the ATP Cup in Sydney, a tournament that requires players to submit to the same vaccination rules as the Australian Open.

Djokovic has so far refused to disclose his vaccination status, asserting his right to privacy, but his decision to sign on to represent Serbia in the teams event in Sydney has boosted confidence among Tennis Australia officials that he intends to pursue a record-breaking 21st grand slam win at next month’s Open.

The ATP Cup requires players to be vaccinated or be granted a medical exemption by Australian health authorities. The same conditions apply to the Australian Open, which starts on January 17.

TA boss Craig Tiley said last month there were players with medical conditions that made them eligible for an exemption.

“There are one or two players that obviously have medical conditions - as there are in the community. There is a medical condition exemption, but it’s a very high bar to get across,” Tiley told SEN.

Neither Djokovic nor TA has confirmed that he will compete in Melbourne.

Novak Djokovic has been named to play in the ATP Cup.Credit: AP

Confirmation that the Serbian star is pencilled in for the men’s teams event at the start of January - and another trip Down Under where he has an impeccable record - was welcomed by Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge, who described it as “brilliant news”.

Tournament boss Craig Tiley has said “certified proof of vaccination” would be needed from tennis stars seeking to come to Australia for the summer.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley.Credit: Jason South

Tennis Australia has confirmed that all players coming to Australia must meet strict specifications set out by health officials, or face two weeks’ quarantine.

“We can confirm that everyone entering Australia for the summer of tennis will need to meet the strict requirements set by health authorities across the country,” a TA spokesperson said.

“These include certified proof of vaccination, or a valid medical exemption approved by Australian medical officials.

“What has also been made clear by health officials is that international arrivals who don’t meet these requirements will need to quarantine for 14 days.”

The issue of unvaccinated tennis stars being allowed to play the Australian Open was complicated in October when Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated that such players could be treated as workers with specialist skills and granted an exemption to enter Australia.

But that idea was quickly dismissed by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who said unequivocally that the state would not be applying for an exemption allowing tennis stars to do so.

Tiley has said that mandatory vaccination applied to all players.

“When the Premier announced that anyone coming into Victoria and playing at Melbourne Park would need to be vaccinated, that included the fans as well as the staff, and also for the players,” Tiley told Channel Nine.

“There was probably only 50 per cent of the players at that point that were vaccinated. That has accelerated ... we’ll get close to 90 per cent [overall vaccination] and there’s still a little bit of time to go before that date at the end of December when everyone arrives.

“Everyone knows they have to be vaccinated seven days before they arrive into Australia, and of course they have the choice of all the vaccines ... so they could just get one shot coming in.

LIST OF QUALIFIED COUNTRIES AND COMMITTED PLAYERS

• SERBIA: Novak Djokovic, Dusan Lajovic, Filip Krajinovic, Nikola Cacic, Matej Sabanov
• RUSSIA: Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Aslan Karatsev, Roman Safiullin, Evgeny Donskoy
• GERMANY: Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff, Yannick Hanfmann, Kevin Krawietz, Tim Puetz
• GREECE: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Michail Pervolarakis, Petros Tsitsipas, Markos Kalovelonis, Aristotelis Thanos
• ITALY: Matteo Berrettini, Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Sonego, Simone Bolelli, Fabio Fognini
• NORWAY: Casper Ruud, Viktor Durasovic, Lukas Hellum-Lilleengen, Leyton Rivera, Andreja Petrovic
• POLAND: Hubert Hurkacz, Kamil Majchrzak, Kacper Zuk, Jan Zielinski, Szymon Walkow
• CANADA: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Brayden Schnur, Peter Polansky, Steven Diez
• GREAT BRITAIN: Cameron Norrie, Daniel Evans, Liam Broady, Joe Salisbury, Jamie Murray
• ARGENTINA: Diego Schwartzman, Federico Delbonis, Federico Coria, Maximo Gonzalez, Andres Molteni
• AUSTRIA: Dominic Thiem, Dennis Novak, Lucas Miedler, Oliver Marach, Philipp Oswald
• CHILE: Cristian Garin, Alejandro Tabilo, Tomas Barrios Vera
• SPAIN: Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Pedro Martinez
• GEORGIA: Nikoloz Basilashvili, Aleksandre Metreveli, Aleksandre Bakshi, Zura Tkemaladze, Saba Purtseladze
• USA: Taylor Fritz, John Isner, Brandon Nakashima, Rajeev Ram, Austin Krajicek
• AUSTRALIA (Wildcard): Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth, Max Purcell, John Peers, Luke Saville

“Novak has made it clear that his status is private and personal to him, and he’s completely entitled to that position. However, to come into Australia there will need to be certified proof of vaccination that gets cleared by the medical officials here, and that will be the same for everyone, everyone coming in.

“Everyone understands it. It has been well-received. We have contributed to more players getting vaccinated because we are the first event that’s required mandatory vaccinations.”

The 16 teams for the ATP Cup, an event run by Tennis Australia and the ATP, were confirmed at the tournament launch in Sydney on Tuesday.

In welcoming the Djokovic news, former Australian player Woodbridge said that Djokovic was well-placed to skip clear of Nadal and Federer, who also share the record of 20 grand slam wins.

“This is brilliant news [Djokovic’s commitment to come to Australia] for the tournament, for Novak fans,” Woodbridge said.

“There is so much at stake for him with what’s coming with his grand slam record, and he had the option or not to enter this tournament.

“The fact he has put his name down is a huge positive.”

Nine-time Australian Open winner Djokovic has been beaten just three times at the tournament since 2011.

“It’s incredible that someone can [could] win a tournament major 10 times,” said Woodbridge.

“It’s his best surface, he plays great, he really seems to enjoy Melbourne. [He’s had] a couple of disappointing losses [in 2021] - not winning the US Open and the Masters Cup, I think there’s a bit of venom in him to prove himself again.

“But in saying that, this is an Open with true contenders.

“We know Medvedev can beat him in that environment, we know that Zverev can beat him in tough matches, and that Thiem is coming back at him.”

While Djokovic’s name is the most significant among the list of committed players, world No.6 Rafael Nadal is missing from team Spain.

Nadal will return to tournament play at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi this month and is still expected to head to Melbourne for the Open.

Qualification for the ATP Cup, restricted to 16 nations instead of 24 next year due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the summer tennis calendar, is based on the ranking of the country’s best player. Just two players from the world’s top 20 - Nadal and Federer - will be absent.

Australia, granted a wildcard as the host nation, named a team featuring the country’s No.1 singles player Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth - who was missing from Australia’s squad at the just-completed Davis Cup - and doubles contenders John Peers, Luke Saville and Max Purcell.

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